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Stress management can help reduce the risk of another incidence of cardiac problem in patients under cardiac rehabilitation, according to a recent study published in the American Heart Association journal.

It was revealed that stress management cuts the risk of heart problems down into half in patients under cardiac rehabilitation when compared to those that had no stress management training.

Researchers at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina studied 151 coronary heart disease outpatients aged between 36 and 84 that took part in cardiac rehabilitation programs with different heart issues, including heart attacks, heart blockage, chest pain and bypass surgery, according to News Medical.

While all the patients were given exercise-based rehab for 12 weeks, part of them also received stress management training that includes coping skills and relaxation techniques. Investigators also studied another group of 75 patients of around same age that exhibited similar health conditions but did not undergo the rehabilitation program, Citizen Digital reproetd.

"Over the past 20 to 30 years, there has been an accumulation of evidence that stress is associated with worse health outcomes," said lead author, Dr James Blumenthal, a clinical psychologist and professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke. "If you ask patients what was responsible for their heart attacks, most patients will indicate that stress was a contributing factor."

Only 18 percent of the patients that received both cardiac rehab and stress management training died or suffered cardiac problems whereas 33 percent of patients that received only cardiac rehab encountered cardiac issues.

On the other hand, 47 percent of patients that did not participate in cardiac rehab or stress management faced cardiac problems. The findings suggest that stress management program reduced the risk of heart problems by 50 percent.

"Given that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., this could represent a new treatment that will help us reduce the impact of this disease," said Dr Eric Aldrich, a researcher in neurology and rehabilitation at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, noted Fox News.