Emergency room patients whose chest pain was judged low risk for a heart problem, but who screened positive for anxiety, had significantly less anxiety after an online cognitive behavioral therapy course supported by trained peers, according to a randomized trial published in JAMA Internal Medicine on Sept. 28. The greatest improvement came among patients whose anxiety was severe.
The finding speaks to a common and frustrating experience. Many Americans rush to the ER believing they may be having a heart attack, undergo testing, and leave with reassuring results but no plan for the fear and physical symptoms that brought them in.
