Telephone-based mindfulness training to reduce stress in women with myocardial infarction: Rationale and design of a multicenter randomized controlled trial.
Tanya M Spruill, Harmony R Reynolds, Victoria Vaughan Dickson, Amanda J Shallcross, Pallavi Visvanathan, Chorong Park, Jolaade Kalinowski, Hua Zhong, Jeffrey S Berger, Judith S Hochman, Glenn I Fishman, Gbenga Ogedegbe
American heart journal August 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.ahj.2018.03.028 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial protocol Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 144 |
| Population | Women reporting elevated perceived stress at least two months after myocardial infarction |
| Intervention | enhanced usual care (EUC) |
| Duration | 8-week telephone programs with 6-month follow-up |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | The article presents the rationale and design of a planned trial to test whether telephone-delivered mindfulness-based cognitive therapy improves perceived stress and related health outcomes in women after myocardial infarction, compared with enhanced usual care. The authors hypothesize greater six-month improvements in perceived stress and secondary outcomes with MBCT-T, and propose that if effective it could be a scalable secondary prevention strategy. |
Abstract
Elevated stress is associated with adverse cardiovascular disease outcomes and accounts in part for the poorer recovery experienced by women compared with men after myocardial infarction (MI). Psychosocial interventions improve outcomes overall but are less effective for women than for men with MI, suggesting the need for different approaches. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is an evidence-based intervention that targets key psychosocial vulnerabilities in women including rumination (i.e., repetitive negative thinking) and low social support. This article describes the rationale and design of a multicenter randomized controlled trial to test the effects of telephone-delivered MBCT (MBCT-T) in women with MI. We plan to randomize 144 women reporting elevated perceived stress at least two months after MI to MBCT-T or enhanced usual care (EUC), which each involve eight weekly telephone sessions. Perceived stress and a set of patient-centered health outcomes and potential mediators will be assessed before and after the 8-week telephone programs and at 6-month follow-up. We will test the hypothesis that MBCT-T will be associated with greater 6-month improvements in perceived stress (primary outcome), disease-specific health status, quality of life, depression and anxiety symptoms, and actigraphy-based sleep quality (secondary outcomes) compared with EUC. Changes in mindfulness, rumination and perceived social support will be evaluated as potential mediators in exploratory analyses. If found to be effective, this innovative, scalable intervention may be a promising secondary prevention strategy for women with MI experiencing elevated perceived stress.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Meditation for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews February 15, 2024
- Effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy via e-health on anxiety and depression in adults: A meta-analysis. General Hospital Psychiatry July 24, 2025
- Brief Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Women With Myocardial Infarction: Results of a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial. JACC. Advances February 1, 2025
- Online mindfulness-based cognitive therapy as an adjuvant-treatment for Chinese patients with psoriasis: A randomized controlled trial JAAD International February 20, 2026
- An Open Trial of Telephone-Delivered Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy: Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Efficacy for Reducing Depressive Symptoms. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice May 2022
Cites 14
- Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression August 21, 2006
- How long does a mindfulness‐based stress reduction program need to be? A review of class contact hours and effect sizes for psychological distress Journal of Clinical Psychology March 23, 2009
- Standardised Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Healthcare: An Overview of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of RCTs PLoS One April 16, 2015
- The mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy adherence scale: inter‐rater reliability, adherence to protocol and treatment distinctiveness Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy March 1, 2002
- Women Benefit More Than Men in Response to College-based Meditation Training. Frontiers in Psychology 2017
and 9 more in the library