Interdisciplinary Treatment of Morbidity in Benign Chest Pain

Abstract

This study tested the hypothesis that functional morbidity in benign chest pain can be modified independently of symptoms through interdisciplinary med ical and cognitive-behavioral intervention. Analyses used data collected in a sixteen-week trial of interdisciplinary treatment for disability in benign chest pain. One hundred four chest pain patients having normal coronary arteriograms (NCA) (n = 14) or mitral valve prolapse (MVP) with no other known cardiac or arterial disease (n = 90) were assigned to individual treatment, group treat ment, self-monitoring attention control, or a wait-list control group. Results in dicate that interdisciplinary intervention, in group or individualized format, was successful for improving short-term and long-term (follow-up range = six to sixteen months) functional status, in both MVP and NCA patients. Correlational analysis indicated that functional improvements were not dependent on reduc tions in the frequency of symptoms. In fact, significant reductions in disability were obtained in those treated patients (13 of 43) who reported no reduction, or an actual increase, in the frequency of chest symptoms. These data indicate that disability in benign chest pain may be modified independently of symptoms by an integration of medical and cognitive-behavioral strategies.