US: Praying for a miracle is not likely to help a loved one having heart surgery, researchers said yesterday. Doctors tested the power of prayer on patients undergoing heart procedures in the US and found it made no difference to their outcomes.
Patients given the benefit of prayer were as likely to suffer a setback in hospital, be readmitted, or die after six months as those for whom no divine intervention was sought.
However, the researchers found that a bedside therapy involving music, imagery and touch (MIT) did alleviate emotional distress. It also led to a slightly lower death rate which was not considered significant.
The study, called Mantra II, recruited 748 patients at nine US centres undergoing coronary catheterisation or percutaneous intervention. The first procedure involves feeding a long tube into the heart to check the state of arteries or carry out treatment. The second is a treatment in which a balloon or other device is used to open up a narrowed artery. Of the patients, 371 were assigned an off-site prayer group that was given the task of praying for them. Prayer groups included Christians, Muslims, Jews and Buddhists. The rest of the patients did not have a prayer group.
Half the patients were also given MIT therapy, which included relaxation techniques and playing easy listening, classical or country music during surgery.
A total of 27 (4 per cent) of the patients died within six months of undergoing a procedure and 24 per cent suffered a major adverse event.
The researchers, led by Dr Mitchell Krucoff, from Duke University Medical Centre in New Carolina, reported in The Lancet medical journal: "Active bedside compassion and prayers for the sick are widely practised for healing throughout the world. Whether such bedside and remote practices have any effect on clinical outcomes remains controversial."