PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Virtual reality shows promise in easing stress for cardiac patients, UCLA Health study finds

2025-08-06
(Press-News.org) Virtual Reality Shows Promise in Easing Stress for Cardiac Patients, UCLA Health Study Finds 

Living with cardiovascular disease often takes a serious emotional toll - and with stress known to worsen heart health, there’s growing interest in low-risk, innovative ways to help patients cope. New research from UCLA Health suggests that virtual reality (VR) may offer a promising tool to ease psychological stress and support heart health. 

In a pilot study involving 20 patients from UCLA’s cardiology clinic - either living with or at risk for cardiovascular disease - participants engaged in a 30-minute VR relaxation experience featuring colorful, immersive visuals and soothing audio. These patients were considered to have above average levels of stress, with nearly half having a history of anxiety or depression, conditions commonly linked to coronary artery disease or recovery from serious cardiac events. 

After a VR session, many patients experienced a significant impact to their psychological state. Many described a calming sense of “distance from stress” and indicated that they lost track of time or felt as if they were “floating.” 

Physiological measurements also supported these experiences. Participants in the study, published in JMIR Cardio, showed a statistically significant drop in their STAI-S (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-State) scores, a validated tool for measuring current anxiety; decreased heart rates; and signs of increased vagal tone - a marker of parasympathetic nervous system activation, which helps the body relax and recover from stress. 

“These findings demonstrate the potential of harnessing immersive technologies to meaningfully reduce stress in cardiac patients,” said Tamara Horwich, MD, cardiologist and professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and corresponding author of the study. “At a time when we’re increasingly embracing new mind-heart-body approaches to care, this offers a safe, low-risk and effective tool to support both emotional well-being and heart health.” 

Further, she added: “Stress is a significant and under-addressed contributor to cardiovascular risk. Our study supports the broader use of behavioral cardiology tools like VR to complement traditional treatment, so patients feel calmer and more connected to their own healing process."

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

MBARI researchers deploy new imaging system to study the movement of deep-sea octopus

2025-08-06
MBARI researchers have developed an innovative imaging system that can be deployed at great depths underwater to study the movement of marine life. The team used the system to study deep-sea octopus and shared their findings in the scientific journal Nature. EyeRIS (Remote Imaging System) can capture detailed three-dimensional visual data about the structures and movement of marine life in their natural deep-sea habitat. MBARI researchers integrated EyeRIS on board a remotely operated vehicle to observe deep-sea pearl ...

Scrambled RNA nudges millions of people towards type-2 diabetes

2025-08-06
Mutations in a single gene, HNF1A, are known to cause MODY3, a rare, early onset form of diabetes. Smaller scale mutations in the very same gene are also common and quietly nudge millions of people toward type-2 diabetes. A study published today in Cell Metabolism reveals why. Researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona show it’s fundamentally a problem of insulin-producing β‑cells. Using mouse models, they switched HNF1A off in different tissues and cell types including the liver, the gut and both α and β‑cells in the pancreas, ...

Big heart, acute senses key to explosive radiation of early fishes

2025-08-06
An international team led by scientists from the Canadian Museum of Nature and the University of Chicago reconstructed the brain, heart, and fins of an extinct fish called Norselaspis glacialis from a tiny fossil the size of fingernail and found evidence of change toward a fast-swimming, sensorily attuned lifestyle well before jaws and teeth were invented to better capture food. “These are the opening acts for a key episode in our own deep evolutionary history,” said Tetsuto Miyashita, who is a research scientist with the ...

Getting sticky: The highest-performing underwater adhesive hydrogel polymer

2025-08-06
Hydrogels are a permeable soft material consisting of polymer networks and water with applications ranging from bio-medical engineering to contact lenses. Intrinsic to hydrogels is the ability to endow diverse characteristics by modifying their polymer networks. Professor Gong’s research lab at WPI-ICReDD, Hokkaido University, specializes in hydrogel technology and has engineered hydrogels with self-strengthening, self-healing, underwater adhesion properties and more. For adhesive hydrogels, achieving instant, strong, and repeatable underwater adhesion is a prevailing challenge. Through a combination of data mining and machine learning, Professor Gong, Professor Takigawa, Professor ...

The health impact of wildfires in Los Angeles County and Maui

2025-08-06
The Health Impact of Wildfires in Los Angeles County and Maui JAMA and JAMA Network Open EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE: 11:00 A.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2025 About The Studies: JAMA and JAMA Network Open are publishing studies examining the health impact of wildfires in Los Angeles County in January 2025 and in Maui in August 2023. Among the findings: JAMA Excess Deaths Attributable to the Los Angeles Wildfires While there were only 30 direct fatalities from the Los Angeles wildfires, this study estimates that 440 deaths from January 5 to February 1, 2025, were attributable to the wildfires. These additional deaths likely reflect a combination of factors, including increased ...

Replacing brain immune cells in mice slows neurodegeneration in Stanford Medicine study

2025-08-06
Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff diseases, genetic disorders affecting the brain, have no effective treatment and are typically fatal within the first years of life. Scientists have reasoned that replacing the affected cells with those that are genetically healthy could slow or halt the neural degeneration that causes the symptoms. But the approach has been plagued with problems, including poor engraftment in the brain and a graft-versus-host response in which transplanted cells attack healthy tissue. Now researchers at Stanford Medicine have developed a way to replace more than half of the most severely affected cells, called microglia, with ...

Early heartbeats direct the heart’s own development and growth

2025-08-06
Francis Crick Institute press release Under strict embargo: 16:00hrs BST Wednesday 6 August 2025 Peer reviewed Experimental study Animals (zebrafish) Early heartbeats direct the heart’s own development and growth Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have discovered that the heart’s own contractions trigger biological signals that guide the formation of a functional beating heart. Their study in zebrafish highlights the heart’s ability to remodel and adapt to physiological demands and could also reveal what goes wrong during congenital ...

Changes to El Niño occurrence causing widespread tropical insect and spider declines

2025-08-06
Arthropods, including insects and spiders, make up the vast majority of animal species on the planet. Despite their small size they are irreplaceable contributors to the health of natural habitats, as well as vital food sources for birds and other larger animals. But, arthropods may be declining globally. There is some evidence to support reduced numbers of species in temperate regions of the Northen Hemisphere. In the tropics, however, evidence for arthropod declines has so far been limited. A recent international collaboration of scientists has attempted to find this missing evidence, with the findings published in Nature. The ...

Nanophotonics: An ultrafast light switch

2025-08-06
In nanophotonics, tiny structures are used to control light at the nanoscale and render it useful for technological applications. A key element here is optical resonators, which trap and amplify light of a certain color (wavelength). Previous methods of controlling these resonances were more like a dimmer switch: You could weaken the resonance or slightly shift its color. However, genuine on-and-off switching was not possible, as the resonators always remain fundamentally coupled with the light. A team led by Andreas Tittl, Professor of Experimental Physics at LMU, has now achieved precisely this breakthrough together with partners from Monash ...

Human instruction with artificial intelligence guidance provided best results in neurosurgical training

2025-08-06
Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a powerful new tool in training and education, including in the field of neurosurgery. Yet a new study suggests that AI tutoring provides better results when paired with human instruction. Researchers at the Neurosurgical Simulation and Artificial Intelligence Learning Centre at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) of McGill University are studying how AI and virtual reality (VR) can improve the training and performance of brain surgeons. They simulate brain surgeries using VR, monitor ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

American Society of Anesthesiologists hosts ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2025

Cockatoos perform 30 distinct dance moves and may combine them in unique ways

Common patterns found among scientists with remarkable early-career citation success

Adolescent girls who have weight concerns despite not being obese are more likely to also experience depression and suicidality, per Korean survey of more than 50,000 middle and high school students

What’s in your pup’s bowl? Heavy metals, reveals 10-state survey

Ocean sediments might support theory that comet impact triggered Younger Dryas cool-off

Waiting in line: Why six feet of social distancing may not be enough

Toxic well water will affect household pets first, new study finds

Some young suns align with their planet-forming disks, others are born tilted

Neighbors matter: Community cohesion boosts disaster resilience, Texas A&M study finds

Virtual reality shows promise in easing stress for cardiac patients, UCLA Health study finds

MBARI researchers deploy new imaging system to study the movement of deep-sea octopus

Scrambled RNA nudges millions of people towards type-2 diabetes

Big heart, acute senses key to explosive radiation of early fishes

Getting sticky: The highest-performing underwater adhesive hydrogel polymer

The health impact of wildfires in Los Angeles County and Maui

Replacing brain immune cells in mice slows neurodegeneration in Stanford Medicine study

Early heartbeats direct the heart’s own development and growth

Changes to El Niño occurrence causing widespread tropical insect and spider declines

Nanophotonics: An ultrafast light switch

Human instruction with artificial intelligence guidance provided best results in neurosurgical training

IHME’s 2025 Roux Prize awarded to rural health equity advocate – recognized for advancing access to oral health care in Nigeria

Archaeologists find oldest evidence of humans on ‘Hobbit’s’ island neighbor – who they were remains a mystery

Novel microwave dielectric ceramics enable high-performance 5G/6G communication devices

Revealed: New vaccine target to block malaria transmission

Air purifiers may reduce heart risks for people exposed to traffic pollution

Effective therapy for MDS is vastly underused, especially in female and non-white patients

Genetic rescue of endangered species may risk bad mutations slipping through

480 macrofungal species discovered in southeast Xizang, China: 8 new species, 115 edible, and 53 poisonous fungi

New study on hope among U.S. youth reveals key to safer schools this fall

[Press-News.org] Virtual reality shows promise in easing stress for cardiac patients, UCLA Health study finds