ABSTRACT
Background: a psychological reaction such as depression and anxiety is a complication of a heart attack. The aromatherapy is one of the processes in Complementary medicine to maintain mental health of diseases
Objective: this study aimed to investigate the effect of inhalation of essential oil on depression and anxiety in patients with acute myocardial infarction
Methods: this Clinical trial study was conducted in 70 heart attack patients by purposive sampling method and randomly divided in two groups [Intervention and control] who were hospitalized in intensive care units of Sirjan in year 2015. Data were collected by self-report DASS-21 questionnaires. In intervention group 0.2 ml of peppermint oil mixed with 2 ml of Normal saline and in control group 2 ml of normal Saline was poured on a gas and attached with clamp to the collar of patients for 20 minutes and inhaled it for 5 days. Before and after the intervention patients completed DASS-21 questionnaire. After collecting the data Inter to SPSS 21 software and using chi-square tests, t-test were analyzed
Results: the age of control and intervention groups was 57.62+/-11.48, 54.94+/-10.53 respectively. After aromatherapy in the intervention group in comparative of before intervention and control group, the level of anxiety and depression in patients significantly showed decreased [P=0.001]
Conclusion: according to the results of this study, treatment with peppermint oil can reduce depression and anxiety in patients with myocardial infarction, so its use is recommended in clinical situations