cover image The Heart-Mind Connection: How Emotions Contribute to Heart Disease and What to Do About It

The Heart-Mind Connection: How Emotions Contribute to Heart Disease and What to Do About It

Windsor Ting, Gregory Fricchione, , foreword by Rosalynn Carter. . McGraw-Hill, $16.95 (228pp) ISBN 978-0-07-139026-2

Top New York cardiologist Ting and Harvard psychiatrist Fricchione argue that common emotional disorders not only result from heart disease but can also cause it. They estimate that as many as 25% of patients hospitalized with heart disease have major depression, with another 20% suffering from minor depression. And that's not all. The authors identify eight emotions or perceptions that can be linked with damage to the cardiovascular system. Besides depression, these "Heart-Mind Conspirators" include anxiety, anger and hostility, social isolation, chronic life stress, acute life stress, panic attacks and disturbances in daily and seasonal rhythms. All are addressed individually with respect to their incidence, how they can specifically damage the heart and the best course of treatment. Depression, anxiety and anger appear to be the chief conspirators, but every emotion mentioned poses serious risks, and they often overlap. In her foreword, Carter, a longtime advocate for mental health issues, rightly describes the book as essential for anyone at risk for or already stricken with heart disease. One hopes it will also find a place on the shelf of those responsible for treating them. (Dec.)