cover image Treating the Aching Heart: A Guide to Depression, Stress, and Heart Disease

Treating the Aching Heart: A Guide to Depression, Stress, and Heart Disease

Beth Baker, . . Vanderbilt Univ., $59.95 (226pp) ISBN 978-0-8265-1561-2

Wulsin, a professor of psychiatry and family medicine at the University of Cincinnati, offers a welcome addition to the literature on the mutual impact of body and mind in this look at how depression contributes to heart disease and vice versa. Written in an informal tone and balancing scientific data with patient checklists and case studies, this book is meant for patients and doctors alike. He tells, for instance, of Bea Hook, a middle-aged woman he was treating only for depression until he realized she had serious risk factors for heart disease that could be exacerbated by her depression. But the author cushions such information with helpful “Clinical Tips” for the average reader: for example, “Learn how depression affects your risks for heart disease”; “Chart the course of your depression over your lifetime”; “Insist on comprehensive treatment of heart disease.” Wulsin discusses possible single and combination treatments, which include medication, psychotherapy, light therapy and pets. Wulsin has effectively melded science with a popular approach to drive home the need for improved awareness and improved care for heart disease and depression and similarly connected diseases. (July)