Cardiovascular disease continues to be one of the leading causes of disease and mortality worldwide. For those who are at risk of coronary blockages and infarction, often procedures such as Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (PCI), such as intracoronary stenting and angioplasty are treatment of choice.

While the surgical procedure is minimally invasive, and often has good outcomes with limited length of hospital stay, the anxiety and stress associated with surgery can negatively impact the cardiac pathology. This article explains that both the risk of infarction to the cardiac tissue, as well as poor coping and adaptive strategies, negatively impact rehabilitation.

This study investigates the need and benefit of psychological intervention prior to PCI, and examines the impact on overall outcome of treatment, looking at 2 subjective outcome measures as well as interleukin 2 (IL-2, a cytokine and marker of immune function) and cortisol (a stress response hormone).