Abstract
Prayer has been an important part of human existence for thousands of years. People turn to a prayer in times of reflection, gratitude, and crisis, including physical illness. Surveys have shown that more than 90% of people believe in a Higher Being (1,2). In a recent survey of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the United States, 35% of people reported that they had used prayer as a therapy for their personal health concerns (3). A study conducted in 1996 demonstrated that 96% of Americans believe in God, at least 90% pray, and more than 40% had attended organized religious services during the past week (4). This chapter explores the relationship between prayer and cardiovascular disease (CVD) by providing terms for evaluating prayer and spirituality in a modern medical setting, by discussing the literature to date and by considering implications for future research.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
King DE, Bushwick B. Beliefs and attitudes of hospital inpatients about faith healing and prayer. J Fam Pract 1994; 39: 349 - 352.
Maugans TA, Wadland, WC. Religion and family medicine: a survey of physicians and patients. J Fam Pract 1991; 32: 210 - 213.
Eisenberg DM, Davis RB, Ettner SL, et al. Trends in alternative medicine use in the United States, 1990-1997: results of a follow-up national survey. JAMA 1998: 280: 1569 - 1575.
Princeton Religion Research Center. Religion in America. The Gallop Poll, Princeton, NJ, 1996.
Koenig HG, McCullough ME, Larson DB. Handbook of Religion and Health. Oxford University Press, London, 2001.
Halperin, EC. Should academic medical centers conduct clinical trials of the efficacy of intercessory prayer? Acad Med 2001; 76: 791 - 797.
Astin, JA, Harkness E, Ernst E. The efficacy of“distant healing”: a systematic review of randomized trials. Ann Intern Med 2000; 132: 903 - 910.
Dossey L. Healing Words—The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine. Harper, San Francisco, 1993.
Benor DJ. Spiritual Healing: Scientific Validation of a Healing Revolution. Vision Publications, 2001.
Byrd, RC. Positive therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer in a coronary care unit population. Southern Med J 1988; 81: 826 - 829.
Harris WS, Gowda M, Kolb JW, et al. A randomized, controlled trial of the effects of remote, intercessory prayer on outcomes in patients admitted to the coronary care unit. Arch Intern Med 1999; 159: 2273 - 2278.
Aviles JM, Whelan E, Hernke DA, et al. Intercessory prayer and cardiovascular disease progression in a coronary care unit population: a randomized controlled trial. Mayo Clin Proc 2001; 76: 1192 - 1198.
Krucoff MW, Crater SW, Green CL, et al. Integrative noetic therapies as adjuncts to percutaneous intervention during unstable coronary syndromes: Monitoring and Actualization of Noetic Training (MANTRA) feasibility pilot. Am Heart J 2001; 142: 760 - 767.
American College of Cardiology Clinical Expert Consensus Document on Alternative Medicine, September 2001.
Mueller PS, Plevak DJ, Rummans TA. Religious involvement, spirituality, and medicine: implications for clinical practice. Mayo Clin Proc 2001; 76: 1225 - 1235.
Matthews, DA, Marlowe, SM, MacNutt, FS. Effects of intercessory prayer on patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Southern Med J 2000; 93: 1177 - 1186.
Sicher F, Targ E, Moore D, Smith H. A randomized double-blind study of the effect of distant healing in a population with advanced AIDS. Western J Med 1998; 169: 356 - 363.
Kwang YC, Wirth DP, Lobo RA. Does prayer influence the success of in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer? Report of a masked, randomized trial. J Reprod Med 2001; 46781 - 787.
Chibnall JT, Jeral JM, Cerullo MA. Experiments on distant intercessory prayer. Arch Int Med 2001; 161: 2529 - 2536.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2004 Humana Press Inc.,Totowa, NJ
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Yager, J.E.E., Crater, S.W., Krucoff, M.W. (2004). Prayer and Cardiovascular Disease. In: Stein, R.A., Oz, M.C. (eds) Complementary and Alternative Cardiovascular Medicine. Contemporary Cardiology. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-728-4_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-728-4_9
Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ
Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-9831-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-728-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive