Role of Aromatherapy as a Natural Complementary and Alternative Therapy in Cardiovascular Disease: A Comprehensive Systematic Review

Abstract

Background. The purpose of this study was a comprehensive review of studies on the effect of aromatherapy with plant essential oils on the improvement of some conditions, for example, anxiety, stress, sleep quality, fatigue, and pain in people with cardiovascular disease. Materials and Methods. We carried out this systematic review based on the instructions of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Ethical agreement was not necessary as main data have not been collected. During March 2022, we searched the main English databases, for example, Google Scholar, Web of Sciences, EMBASE, EBSCO, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and PubMed/MEDLINE, with limitation to human clinical trials. For this study, no time limit was applied for the publication of articles. Results. Out of 1380 papers, 52 papers up to March 2022 were eligible for review in this systematic review. Based on the obtained results, the most widely used medicinal plants for aromatherapy in patients with cardiovascular diseases were Lavandula angustifolia (lavender, 55.7%), Rosa damascena (Damask rose, 11.5%), and Mentha piperita (peppermint, 5.8%), respectively. Most studies have been performed on the effect of aromatherapy on coronary angiography (21 papers, 40.4%), followed by artery bypass graft surgery (14 studies, 26.9%), and cardiac patients (5 studies, 9.6%). Most studies on the effect of aromatherapy in cardiovascular diseases were performed on anxiety (31 papers, 59.6%), sleep quality (8 studies, 15.4%), and hemodynamic parameters (6 studies, 11.5%), respectively. Conclusion. This study systematically reviewed the effects of aromatherapy in patients with cardiovascular diseases. The review of studies showed that lavender, Damask rose, and peppermint are the most frequents plants used for aromatherapy, whereas they significantly improved some illnesses and conditions, especially anxiety and sleep quality. Therefore, it can be concluded that cardiologist can used aromatherapy as a natural complementary and alternative therapy particularly with lavender, Damask rose, and peppermint to improve quality of life and some conditions such as anxiety and sleep quality.

Time-Dependent Analysis of Human Neurophysiological Activities during an Ecological Olfactory Experience

“…Odors have shown the property of increasing memory recall, inducing relaxation, or even enhancing humans’ mental abilities. Aromatherapy is a discipline that has been used for millennia as an alternative medicine in different cultures, resulting in effective treatment of some disorders such as insomnia [ 1 ], anxiety [ 2 ], and depression [ 3 ]. In addition to these clinical applications, the effects of fragrances on the human mind and behavior is also of great interest for all those applications related to everyday life, such as cosmetics, personal care, nutrition, comfort, and psychophysical well-being [ 4 , 5 ].…”

Effect of olfactory stimulation from aromatherapy on the autonomic nervous activity during aerobic exercises

“…Moreover, aromatherapy increases positive emotions [21] and decreases negative emotions [17][18][19]22] . Furthermore, these effects have been reported in systematic reviews of cardiovascular disease [23] . However, most studies examining the effects of aromatherapy have been conducted at rest; nevertheless studies conducted during exercise are scarce.…”

Use of Essential Oil of Lavender Angustifoly to Improve Sleep Quality

“…Lavender has beneficial effects on sleep, both direct and indirect. The indirect effect may be related to other properties of lavender, as previous studies have shown the effectiveness of lavender to reduce cancer complications (MARDANI et al, 2022), in women who are in the menopause period (ROOZBEH et al, 2018) in cardiovascular diseases (ALMOHAMMED et al, 2022), pain relief (BAGHERI-NESAMI et al, 2014).…”