Effectiveness of Stress Inoculation Training on Heart Rate Variability, Salivary Cortisol, Anxiety, Stress, and Depression after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of stress inoculation on laboratory markers such as heart rate variability and salivary cortisol and clinical outcomes (anxiety, stress and depression) of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Methods & Materials: The research is a semi experimental study with the pre, post-test and experimental and control groups. The research population was patients who had coronary artery bypass surgery and referred to the Rehab center of Tehran Heart Hospital. The sample of the research was 30 people were chosen through random sampling method and divided into two experimental and control groups. The instrument of this study was the Kit cortisol, heart rate monitor HRV and DASS-21 scale of depression, anxiety and stress. The experimental group was exposed to an independent variable (training for immunization against stress) for 10 sessions of 90 minutes. Findings: The results of multivariate analysis of covariance show that between the mean scales of pre-test, post-test and follow-up of depression (p <0.001), anxiety (p <0.001), stress (p <0.001), There was a significant difference between salivary cortisol (p <0.001) and HRV (p <0.001) between the experimental group and the control group. Also, the significance of the interaction between the stages and the experimental group in HRV variable, indicates that in the post-test stages and Follow-up, the mean of the experimental group was significantly higher than the control group And in other variables, it is less than the control group. Conclusion: In fact, reducing negative emotions following stress inoculation training plays an important role in preventing the more severe complications of heart disease, and interventions based on the results of this study are recommended for heart patients.