Background & Aims: Nowadays, in most parts of the world, cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction are among the most widespread chronic diseases and anxiety and depression are common symptoms of the disease. However, according to the studies, spiritual health can play an important role in confronting and coping with the stress resulted from illness. For this reason, the study for examining the relationship between spiritual health, anxiety and depression in acute myocardial infarction was carried out.

 Materials & Methods: In a descriptive correlational study, 67 patients with acute myocardial infarction who were hospitalized at Seyyedolshhda hospital in University of Medical Sciences were selected by simple sampling. A questionnaire was used to collect data that consisted of three parts: the first part was demographic information the second part included spiritual health scale Palutzian & Ellison and the third section was the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS). The data were analyzed using of SPSS 16.

 Results: In this study, 46 patients (70.8%) were male and 19 were female. In addition, 23 patients (37.7 percent) in addition to heart disease had another chronic disease, respectively. In terms of mental health, a total of 16 (23.9%) of the participants in this study had lower levels of depression or anxiety and 36 (53.7%) of the participants had a major depressive or anxiety disorder, borderline and finally, 15 (22.4%) of the participants had a higher level of depression or anxiety disorders. In terms of spirituality, a total of 35 (52.2%) of the participants had a mean spiritual level and 32 (48.3) of the participants had a high spiritual level and none of them had a lower spiritual level. There was a significant relationship between spirituality and level of depression and anxiety, gender and level of education and occupation.

 Conclusion: The results showed that there is a reverse relationship between spiritual health and level of anxiety and depression. Spirituality-based care programs can be a good method to reduce anxiety and depression of the patients.  

 SOURCE: URMIA MED J 2015: 25(12): 1102 ISSN: 1027-3727