Abstract:

Objective

To investigate the impact of cognitive behavioral therapy led by brainheart health management specialists on patients with mild to moderate anxiety and depression following stroke.

Methods

A convenience sampling method was employed to include 98 patients with mild to moderate anxiety and depression after stroke admitted to the Department of Neurology at Nantong First People's Hospital from June to December 2023. Among them, 49 patients admitted to the first ward of the neurology department were assigned to the control group, while 49 patients admitted to the second ward were assigned to the observation group. The control group received conventional treatment, care, and psychological intervention, whereas the observation group received additional internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy led by brain-heart health management specialists. Pre- and post-intervention differences in Hamilton Anxiety Scale （HAMA） scores, Hamilton Depression Scale （HAMD） scores, Short Form 36 Health Survey （SF-36）scores, and Barthel Index （BI） scores were compared between the two groups using t-tests.

Results

After the intervention, the HAMA and HAMD scores of the observation group were lower than those of the control group ［（7.83±4.85） vs （9.08±4.58）； （8.26±3.04） vs （9.28±4.67）］, and the SF-36 and BI scores of the observation group were higher than those of the control group ［（498.00±31.02） vs （438.41±28.68）； （80.11±3.35）vs （70.23±3.01）］, with all differences being statistically significant （t=1.023, 2.672, -9.378, -15.765, all P＜0.001）.

Conclusion

Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy led by brain-heart health management specialists is effective in alleviating anxiety and depression symptoms in stroke patients. It also improves their physical and mental health, self-care ability, and overall quality of life.

Key words: Stroke, Anxiety, Depression, Cognitive behavioral therapy, Brain and heart health management