Heart patients: the fear of The implanted Defi take

After you have a cardioverter-Defibrillator was used, plagues, some heart patients have a great fear of. This can affect their quality of life massively. Researchers from Würzburg have a Internet training, you were able to close the gaps in knowledge of the patients successfully, so that their mental problems improved in a sustainable way.

The psychologist, Dr. Stefan Schulz reports: "Some patients, for example, have to be afraid to pass the barriers in the entrance doors, large shops, because rumors are circulating that the electronics of the defibrillator off. But these rumors nothing is on it."

Such concerns could dispel, the scientists, through their internet-based training: A year later, the trained patients were significantly less likely to have anxiety disorders or depression than patients in the control group without treatment. "This clearly shows that the patients have acquired during the six-week training, a competence, how they cope with the fear können", Prof. Dr. Paul Pauli.

During the training, the patients were able to ask questions, and share with others. They learned in the weekly sections for more information about the function of the defibrillator, and what you had to pay attention, were educated about depression, Fears, and opportunities for self-help. In the last two modules, an individual choice of priorities was possible.

Pauli can imagine, the Training to other groups of patients, extend: "Many stress factors that we have taken in our study in focus, also apply to heart patients without Defi. Our web-based training opens up a practical way to verbessern&quot the quality of life of mentally stressed heart patient sustainably;.

ZOU