The effects of aromatherapy on patients undergoing coronary angiography: A systematic review of clinical trials

As a diagnostic and therapeutic technique for coronary artery disease, angiography is usually associated with some disorders and complications such as fear, pain, discomfort, limited mobility, and anxiety. The present study is a systematic review determining the effects of aromatherapy with different plants in patients undergoing angiography. This review was conducted according to the 06-PRISMA guideline and registered in the CAMARADES-NC3Rs Preclinical Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Facility (SyRF) database. The English databases were Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCO, and ScienceDirect to search articles regarding the effects of aromatherapy with different plants in patients experiencing angiography without a date limitation. The searched keywords in this study were "aromatherapy", "angiography", "coronary artery disease", "anxiety", "stress", and "cardiovascular diseases". Out of 1835 papers, 20 papers up to 2021, met the inclusion criteria for discussion in this systematic review with the data extracted. Most studies were intended to evaluate the effect of aromatherapy on patients’ anxiety with coronary artery bypass graft surgery (11 papers, 55.0%). The most widely used essential oil belonged to the lavender essential oil (13 papers, 65.0%). The results of the current review confirmed that aromatherapy management with lavender, damask rose, orange, and peppermint is able to significantly decrease anxiety, pain, nausea and vomiting, sleep quality, hemodynamic indices, blood pressure, etc. in patients with coronary angiography. However, more investigation is required to confirm the precise mechanisms and side effects of the alternative treatment.