Background & Aim: Anxiety can change the heart rate and also increase the myocardial oxygen demand and the risk of mortality in patients with heart diseases. This study aims to examine the effects of massage therapy by a nurse or the patient's companion on anxiety of the male patients admitted in coronary care unit.

  Material & Methods: An RCT was conducted on three randomly allocated groups (massage by a nurse, massage by a patient’s companion, and control group) of male patients admitted to coronary care units of Kashan’s Shahid Beheshti hospital (n=30). In the intervention groups, total body massage was done for 60 minutes. The third group (control) did not receive any intervention. Data was collected using Spillberger anxiety inventory and was analyzed by SPSS-PC (v.11.5), using Independent t-test, paired t test, One-way ANOVA, Tukey test, Chi-square, and Fisher exact test.

  Results: The mean scores for the Stat and Trait anxiety of the two intervention groups were significantly decreased after the massage therapy sessions (p<0.001). However, no significant differences were found between the mean scores of stat or trait anxiety of the groups who received massage by a nurse or by the patients’ companion (P>0.05). However, significant differences were found between the mean scores of stat or trait anxiety of the two intervention groups and the control group (P<0.05). 

 Discussion: Considering the effect of massage therapy on decreasing the level of anxiety and finding no difference between the effect of massage by nurses and patients’ companions, massage therapy by the patients’ companions can be used as an anxiolytic method in CCU patients.

  Received: 5 Sep 2012

  Accepted: 10 Dec 2012