CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Positive psychology interventions such as mindfulness, gratitude journaling and optimism training can consistently improve blood pressure, inflammation markers and other cardiovascular disease risk factors within a matter of weeks, a recent study found. However, since these benefits are associated with lifestyle changes such as eating healthier and greater physical activity, the researchers suggested that ongoing reinforcements may be needed to stay on course long term.
Rosalba (Rose) Hernandez, a professor of social work at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, led a team that analyzed the findings of 18 randomized controlled trials that used positive psychological and mindfulness interventions to enhance mental or physical health.
The programs that the team reviewed included individual methods — such as structured telephone sessions, journaling with brief check-ins and digital platforms such as apps and text messaging — and interactive in-person group sessions, as well as hybrid formats that blended these with online tools and virtual meetings. Most of the programs consisted of weekly sessions and at-home activities that reinforced the skills taught, with the majority of programs lasting from six to 12 weeks, the team found.
In general, the programs included 50-200 adults with elevated cardiovascular risk factors such as uncontrolled hypertension, heart failure or other conditions. Typically, the participants were in their late 50s to mid-60s, and women comprised 35-55% of the samples across those studies that reported their participants’ gender, according to the researchers.
“In hypertension and postacute coronary syndrome cohorts, mindfulness-based programs delivered over an eight-week period reduced systolic blood pressure and lowered inflammatory markers such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and fibrinogen,” said Hernandez, who is a Fellow of the American Heart Association. “A 12-week spirituality-based digital intervention achieved one of the largest reductions — reducing systolic blood pressure measured with a standard cuff by 7.6 points, and central systolic pressure — which is measured in the aorta as it leaves the heart — by 4.1 points.”
In prior research on positive psychology interventions, scientists seldom defined the dose that was needed to obtain the beneficial effects, Hernandez said. She and the team members sought to clarify the frequency and duration that was most likely to improve individuals’ cardiovascular health.
Programs that had more frequent contact with their participants yielded the most consistent physiological benefits, underscoring the opportunity to embed positive psychological strategies into long-term cardiovascular care, Hernandez said.
The team found that the strongest behavioral improvements were achieved by an eight-week program delivered over WhatsApp that combined weekly sessions with daily microtasks, motivating participants to engage in greater physical activity, eat a healthier diet and take their medication as prescribed. A program that included motivational interviewing succeeded in increasing cardiac patients’ levels of physical activity by 1,800 steps a day and their medication adherence, while the mindfulness programs improved participants’ activity levels and diets only, according to the study.
“The therapeutic dose that was most consistently linked with improvements in blood pressure, inflammation and endothelial function was daily practice reinforced by weekly sessions over eight to 12-week periods,” Hernandez said. “Therapeutic dosing typically involved high-frequency dosing over this time period to obtain short-term physiologic benefits, while ongoing less-intensive contact may be needed to sustain behavioral change.”
Published in the journal Cardiology Clinics, the study was co-written by University of South Florida social work professor Soonhyung Kwon; Alyssa M. Vela, a professor of surgery and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; and Katharine S. Edwards, a professor of cardiovascular medicine and of psychiatry and behavioral medicine at Stanford Medicine.
“The findings of this study further point to the importance of attending to mental and behavioral health for cardiovascular disease prevention and cardiovascular health optimization,” Vela said. “This speaks to the need for routine screening and integration of cardiac behavioral medicine to allow for access to important interventions.”
The current study adds to a growing body of research linking psychological well-being — including traits such as optimism, positive affect and gratitude — with cardioprotective benefits.
The work was built upon the findings of a prior study led by Hernandez that found that people who were the most optimistic had healthier hearts. That paper was published in the journal Health Behavior and Policy Review.
Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Center for Research Resources, that paper was co-written with preventive medicine professors Kiarri N. Kershaw, Juned Siddique and Hongyan Ning, all of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; preventive medicine and epidemiology professor Donald M. Lloyd-Jones of Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine; psychology professor Julia K. Boehm of Chapman University; social and behavioral sciences professor Laura D. Kubzansky of Harvard University School of Public Health; and Distinguished Professor of Epidemiology Dr. Ana Diez Roux of Drexel University.
