STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Cardiac patients who have a strong religious faith have greater confidence in their ability to perform tasks and complete their rehabilitation, according to a pilot study.

Researchers at Geisinger Medical Center and Bucknell University are now expanding their study to determine whether those with a strong religious faith also show long-term improvement in their cardiovascular health.

Timothy McConnell, director of cardiac rehabilitation at Geisinger, a 437-bed hospital in Danville that is funding the study, said Friday he hopes to enlist 100 cardiac rehabilitation patients for a five-year study.

For the pilot study, McConnell originally identified 21 patients who had recently had a first heart attack or undergone bypass surgery. Patients were surveyed to determine their spiritual beliefs and religious practices before beginning their rehabilitation regimens and again after the 12-week program was completed.

McConnell and Chris Boyatzis, a psychology professor at Bucknell, presented their findings in September at the annual meeting of the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation.

"We have sort of this interesting link between the patient's religiosity and their confidence to function," Boyatzis said. "The more religious they were, the more they improved. The more religious faith they had, the more faith they had in their own ability to complete tasks and to function."

That's not surprising, said Mike McCullough, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Miami, whose research includes the effects of religious beliefs on human health and well-being. He said several studies have made similar findings with other patient groups.

The next step, McConnell said, is to expend both the study's breadth and its length. More than 60 patients are now enrolled in the study, and McConnell hopes to have 100. Patients will be surveyed annually for five years in order to track any changes in their health, quality of life or religious beliefs and practices.

McCullough said that information could help doctors develop treatments that are better suited to an individual patient's needs.

"If we know from lots and lots of studies — we wouldn't want to do this on the basis of a single study — that this was a pretty solid finding ... we could use this information to locate people who might be at risk for not doing as well," McCullough said. "That is on the horizon as something that is a real possibility."

McConnell said the findings might also point to ways that clergy or other nonmedical personnel could be used to help patients undergoing cardiac rehabilitation.

"Maybe there needs to be a spiritual intervention of some type," McConnell said. "How we would do that, I don't know, but maybe that has to become part of what people are presented with during their recovery process."

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