Relationship of Anxiety, Stress, and Depression with Spiritual Health in Patients with Acute Coronary Artery Disease

Background and Objective: Anxiety, stress, and depression can cause chest pain. On the other hand, spiritual health plays an important role in acceptance of disease. In this study, we attempted to investigate the relationship of stress, anxiety, and depression with spiritual health in patients with acute coronary syndrome. Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 294 patients with acute coronary syndrome during 10 months in teaching hospitals affiliated to Qom University of Medical Sciences. Data collection was performed by using demographic and clinical data, depression, anxiety, stress, and spiritual health questionnaires. To analyze the data, indices of the central tendency, independent t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient were used in SPSS, version 13. Results: There were significant correlations between anxiety and stress and existential health (r=-0.196, P=0.001 and r=-0.171, P=0.003, respectively) and between depression and both existential and religious health dimensions (r=-0.294, P=0.001 and r=-0.244, P=0.001, respectively). In addition, the depression and stress levels were higher in more advanced ages, while existential health was lower. Depression, stress, and existential and religious health were higher in patients with a history of chronic diseases. In those with a history of taking cardiac medications, the levels of stress, anxiety, and existential and religious health were higher. Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, in patients with acute coronary syndrome, those who obtained higher spiritual health scores experienced less anxiety and depression. Thus, nurses are recommended to implement self-care training programs with the presence of religious counselors in hospitals and even after discharge to increase patients’ spiritual health and diminish their anxiety, stress, and depression. In this case, special attention must be paid to patients aged more than 50 years, with a history of chronic diseases and taking cardiac medications