Prospective Studies from Germany Are Lacking

Mind–Body Medicine in the Secondary Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease—A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis by Dr. rer. medic. Holger Cramer, Dr. rer. medic. Romy Lauche, Dr. rer. medic. Anna Paul, Prof. Dr. med. Jost Langhorst, Prof. Dr. med. Andreas Michalsen, and Prof. Dr. med. Gustav Dobos in issue 45/2015

In their article, Cramer et al. summarize the evidence relating to the subject of mind-body medicine (MBM) (1). The definition and subject matter of MBM are described in the second and third paragraphs of the introduction as “intensive [...] programs for lifestyle modification” that entail “not only nutritional advice and exercise/sport, but also relaxation techniques and psychological motivational elements.” This raises the question of whether the literature search should not have included in the analyses the prospective phase II studies of outpatient and inpatient cardiological rehabilitation in Germany, which are entirely consistent with the multimodal concept of MBM as presented (2–4)? This form of rehabilitation according to the 2007 German guideline for the rehabilitation of patients with cardiovascular disorders (DU-Reha) is (translated from verbatim quote) “the process by which patients with heart disease are supported by means of a multidisciplinary team in their efforts to regain at the individual level the best possible physical and psychological health and social integration and to sustain these in the long term.”

DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.2016.0373a

Dr. med. Manju Guha

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Prävention und Rehabilitation
von Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen (DGPR) e.V.

Reha-Klinik am Sendesaal, Bremen

Prof. Dr. med. habil. Axel Schlitt, MHA

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Prävention und Rehabilitation
von Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen (DGPR) e.V.

Paracelsus-Harz-Klinik Bad Suderode, Quedlinburg

Conflict of interest statement

Professor Schlitt has received consultancy fees from AstraZeneca. He has received lecture honoraria and conference delegate fees and travel expenses from BMS, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Bayer; he has received study support (third-party funding) from Sanofi-Aventis, Novartis, and Actelion.

Dr Guha declares that no conflict of interest exists.

References

1. Cramer H, Lauche R, Paul A, Langhorst J, Michalsen A, Dobos G: Mind–body medicine in the secondary prevention of coronary heart disease—a systematic review and meta-analysis. Dtsch Arztebl Int 2015; 112: 759–67

2. Rauch B, Riemer T, Schwaab B, et al.: Short-term comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation after AMI is associated with reduced 1-year mortality: results from the OMEGA study. Eur J Prev Cardiol 2014; 21: 1060–9

3. Jünger C, Rauch B, Schneider S, et al.: Effect of early short-term cardiac rehabilitation after acute ST-elevation and non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction on 1-year mortality. Curr Med Res Opin 2010; 26: 803–11

4. Schwaab B, Waldmann A, Katalinic A, Sheikhzadeh A, Raspe H: In-patient cardiac rehabilitation versus medical care—a prospective multicentre controlled 12 months follow-up in patients with coronary heart disease. Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil 2011; 18: 581–6