Angina Pectoris and the Placebo Effect

Abstract

THE placebo effect is a component of any therapeutic intervention, and its influence is seen in many diseases.^{1 2 3 4 5} The symptoms of angina pectoris, in particular, are responsive to the placebo effect. Many of the treatments used since Heberden's⁶ description of this disease in 1772 are now known to have no specific physiologic effect. Since the diagnostic criteria for angina pectoris and the evaluation of its severity have not changed appreciably in 200 years, a review of the reported effectiveness of some of these inactive, abandoned treatments affords a historical perspective on the contribution of the placebo effect and permits quantification . . .