# Addressing Disturbance in Bodily Experience After Ventricular Assist Device Implantation: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial of Curricular Psychological Support

## TL;DR

This study shows that focused psychological support helps reduce bodily experience disturbances in patients with ventricular assist devices.

## Contribution

Demonstrates the effectiveness of curricular psychological intervention in improving post-VAD implantation bodily experience.

## Key findings

- Targeted psychological support significantly reduces bodily experience disturbance in VAD patients over 12 months.
- Patients with initial disturbance in bodily experience benefit most from the intervention.
- Gratitude scores remain high and stable over time in all patients.

## Abstract

Disturbance in bodily experience (BE) after ventricular assist device (VAD) implantation is common. This study aims to investigate the effect of focused psychological support to improve BE in VAD patients.

This national, multicenter, longitudinal study enrolled 140 VAD patients from four centers across Germany in a prospective, randomized controlled trial. Patients were randomized (1:1) to receive curricular and focused psychological intervention in the post‐implantation step‐down units after implantation (n = 70) or treatment as usual (n = 70). BE was assessed using the Bodily Experience Scale in VAD Patients (BE‐S) after implantation (baseline) and followed up 12 months later. Data were analyzed using mixed‐effects models.

VAD patients with disturbance in BE (BE‐S ≥ 2) after implantation (n = 43, 63.24%) benefit from the targeted intervention. Compared to the subsample of the control group (CG) patients with initial BE disturbance (n = 46, 69.7%), the intervention group (IG) displays a significantly stronger decrease from baseline to the 1‐year follow‐up (p = 0.01). Generally, women (p = 0.4) and emergently implanted patients (p = 0.24) show a smaller, albeit not significant, decrease in BE disturbance. All patients have high overall gratitude scores, which increase slightly but not significantly over time.

The efficacy of targeted psychological support in reducing disturbance in BE among VAD patients is highlighted. Given the strong correlation between BE and other mental health domains, such as anxiety and depression, it is essential to address disturbances in BE to improve the overall mental health of VAD patients.

Improving mental health in VAD patients: Focused psychological support mitigates disturbance in bodily experience after VAD implantation. Findings from a randomized controlled trial.