Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26065388›Full record

SynthesisThe Journal of cardiovascular nursing

A Systematic Review of Relaxation, Meditation, and Guided Imagery Strategies for Symptom Management in Heart Failure.

Kristine L Kwekkeboom, Lisa C Bratzke

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in The Journal of cardiovascular nursing. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
22citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.8field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

22 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 67 citations in OpenAlex.

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  8. Non-pharmacological symptom self-management in non-malignant chronic disease: A scoping review.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Kristine L KwekkeboomKristine L. Kwekkeboom, PhD, RN Professor, School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Lisa C. Bratzke, PhD, RN, ANP-BC Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Lisa C Bratzke
Office of the Director · USUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison · US

Funding

A Brief Patient-Controlled Intervention for a Symptom Cluster in Advanced CancerR01NR013468 · NINR · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI KWEKKEBOOM, KRISTINE L · 2013 to 2016
$2.0M
Brain Alterations And Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults with Heart FailureR00NR012773 · NINR · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI BRATZKE, LISA C · 2013 to 2015
$650k
NINR NIH HHS R00 NR012773NINR NIH HHS R01 NR013468
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPain, dyspnea, fatigue, and sleep disturbance are prevalent and distressing symptoms in persons with advanced heart failure. Although many lifestyle and self-care interventions have been developed to control heart failure progression, very few studies have explored treatments exclusively for symptom palliation. Cognitive-behavioral strategies may be effective treatment for these symptoms in advanced heart failure.

objectiveA systemic review was conducted to describe the effect of cognitive-behavioral strategies on pain, dyspnea, fatigue, and sleep disturbance in patients with heart failure.

methodsCINAHL, Medline, and PsychINFO were searched from inception through December 2014. Articles were selected for inclusion if they tested a cognitive-behavioral strategy using a quasi-experimental or experimental design, involved a sample of adults with heart failure, and measured pain, dyspnea, fatigue, sleep disturbance, or symptom-related quality of life. The 2 authors evaluated study quality, abstracted data elements from each study, and synthesized findings.

resultsThirteen articles describing 9 unique studies met criteria and were included in the review. Five studies tested relaxation strategies, 3 tested meditation strategies, and 1 tested a guided imagery strategy. Of the 9 studies, 7 demonstrated some improvement in symptom outcomes. Relaxation, meditation, guided imagery, or combinations of these strategies resulted in less dyspnea and better sleep compared with attention control or usual care conditions and reduced pain, dyspnea, fatigue, and sleep disturbance within treatment groups (pretreatment to posttreatment). Symptom-related quality of life was improved with meditation compared with attention control and usual care conditions and improved pre- to post-guided imagery.

conclusionsStudies exploring cognitive-behavioral symptom management strategies in heart failure vary in quality and report mixed findings but indicate potential beneficial effects of relaxation, meditation, and guided imagery on heart failure-related symptoms. Future research should test cognitive-behavioral strategies in rigorously designed efficacy trials, using samples selected for their symptom experience, and measure pain, dyspnea, fatigue, and sleep disturbance outcomes with targeted symptom measures.

Indexed as

Imagery, PsychotherapyMeditationFatigueHeart FailureHumansQuality of Life

Identifiers

PMID26065388
PMCPMC4675700
OpenAlexW2318504662

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.