Introduction: From a biopsychological perspective, depression and anxiety following cardiac surgery may arise from functional limitations and concerns about future health. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the simultaneous effects of eight weeks of aerobic exercise and sertraline medication on depression and anxiety in patients after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.
Methods: In this clinical trial, 33 patients aged 40–60 years who had undergone CABG and were referred to Fatemeh Zahra Heart Hospital in Sari in 2019 were randomly assigned to four groups: exercise + placebo (n=8), exercise + sertraline (n=9), sertraline (n=8), and placebo (n=8). The exercise + placebo and exercise + sertraline groups performed aerobic exercise for eight weeks. The medication and exercise + medication groups received sertraline at a dosage of 25–50 mg for two months, as prescribed by a psychiatrist. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to assess depression and anxiety. Data were analyzed using paired t-test, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and Bonferroni post hoc test in SPSS at a significance level of 0.05.
Results: The findings showed that after the intervention period, there were no significant differences among the four groups (exercise + placebo, exercise + medication, medication, and placebo) in the pre-test scores. According to the ANCOVA analysis of post-test depression scores, the differences among the groups were also not statistically significant.
Conclusion: These results suggest that factors such as the duration of the intervention, exercise intensity, medication dosage, individual patient characteristics, and postoperative conditions may play a decisive role in treatment effectiveness.