Handbook of Psychocardiology

Handbook of Psychocardiology Marlies E. Alvarenga • Don Byrne Editors Handbook of Psychocardiology With 95 Figures and 36 Tables Editors Marlies E. Alvarenga Don Byrne MonashHEART, Monash Cardiovascular ANU Medical School Research Centre College of Medicine Biology and Monash Health and Department of Medicine Environment, Australia National University (SCS at Monash) Canberra, ACT, Australia Monash University Melbourne, VIC, Australia ISBN 978-981-287-205-0 ISBN 978-981-287-206-7 (eBook) ISBN 978-981-287-207-4 (print and electronic bundle) DOI 10.1007/978-981-287-206-7 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016936690 # Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer Science+Business Media Singapore Pte Ltd. Foreword The phrase “hearts and minds” rolls off the tongue with ease and a conviction that the two are faithfully linked. Risk factors for heart, stroke, and vascular disease have deeply rooted social and behavioral determinants. People with depression or other major psychiatric illness are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease either de novo or as a consequence of the treatment they receive. People with acute cardiac disease are faced with the possibility of mortality or future disability and it is no surprise this carries a significant psychological burden. This is a complex two-way relationship. Our knowledge of psychocardiology is increasing rapidly as new tools become available and the new biology including imaging, omics, and other techniques are applied to help unravel the links between brain function, the autonomic nervous system, and the circulation. This book is very timely in addressing a fast moving field where there are significant challenges for the future. The burden of cardiovascular disease is increasing worldwide associated with development, the stresses associated with globalization, and the socioeconomic gradients that occur. Obesity is on the rise and its metabolic consequences including diabetes are closely related to behavior and to future cardiac and vascular diseases. In developed economies, increasing longevity is giving rise to concerns about the future burden of dementia. About half of dementia is vascular in origin and the risk factors for the other half overlap closely with the classical cardiovascular risk factors. These and many other subjects are dealt with in this book. Professor Byrne and Dr. Alvarenga have made significant contributions to the field themselves and they have assembled an impressive list of authors to produce a comprehensive resource for all those interested in the field. The book provides a firm basis for the development of the science of cardiac psychology in the opening section, providing a historical perspective, an outline of the causes, pathophysiology, and role of tobacco smoking, alcohol, and other lifestyle aspects. This is followed by an account of the psychopathology associated with cardiovascular disease, including depression, anxiety, and stress as well as psychoses and more specific and contemporary issues such as posttraumatic stress, occupational stress, and the stress associated with cardiac disease itself and its various remedies, particularly surgery. Special populations are particularly v vi Foreword susceptible to both cardiovascular disease and depression, and there are chapters on indigenous populations, refugees, the poor, and the homeless. These well-known social determinants of cardiovascular disease are most likely linked by stress, depression, and associated factors. Controversies on personality and propensity to develop heart disease are the subject of other chapters of the book. Finally, there is an ambitious attempt to explain these associations through the neurobiology of psychology and of cardiovascular disease. This is a comprehensive examination of a complex but important issue, and the editors have not shirked any of the innate, social, psychological, or biomedical factors involved. It will no doubt find a place as a valuable resource for all those interested in the field, crossing disciplinary boundaries and stimulating new work in the area. Garry Jennings Melbourne, Australia Preface In September 2008, the inaugural Heart and Mind: Psychogenic Cardiovascular Disease Conference was held in the beautiful town of Prato in central Italy. The conference was held under the auspices of the (then) Baker Heart Research Institute (now the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute) in Melbourne, Australia, and was the product of a fruitful collaboration between an eminent cardiologist (Professor Murray Esler) and a clinical psychologist (Dr. Marlies E. Alvarenga). The conference brought together a truly international participation of around 150 active scientists and clinicians from diverse disciplinary backgrounds to consider the evidence linking psychological factors with cardiovascular disease (CVD), and the proceed- ings were published in a Special Issue of the journal Stress and Health (Volume 24, Issue 3) under the editorship of Professor Graham Burrows, a psychiatrist. Two further meetings of what had by then become simply and fondly known as the Prato Conference were held in 2010 and 2012, and extended this collegial sharing of knowledge and wisdom to define in clear terms the new and exciting field of psychocardiology. The two editors of this current volume had the significant privilege (and the great pleasure) of taking part in both the inaugural and subsequent Prato Conferences, and from those meetings – and many other discussions we had between 2008 and 2010 – the idea that this knowledge and wisdom should be tapped, documented, and put between hard covers was born. The Handbook of Psychocardiology then is to our knowledge the only currently available compendium of evidence and practice which has both systematically and comprehensively addressed the role of psychological and behavioral factors, broadly defined, in the genesis, clinical course, and management of CVD. In bringing this about, the Handbook has striven to address four areas in the overall domain of CVD – epidemiology, stress and psychopathology, psychobiological mechanisms, and patient management – which, on the face of it, may appear to be quite separate, but which (we believe) are intricately interrelated to one another. And in brining this material together, we have held as our dominant objective the establishment of psychocardiology as an emerging force majeure in the field of CVD. To achieve this, it has been our aim from the very beginning – and one in which we believe we have well succeeded – to seek chapters from scientists and clinicians of preeminent international distinction in each of the fields of the basic biomedical sciences, cardiology and cardiovascular biology (of course), psychiatry and psychology, and vii viii Preface epidemiology. We have sought to question the rigidity of the boundaries between these disciplinary areas and to suggest, instead, that those boundaries are in fact surprisingly porous. We (as the Handbook’s editors) see the field of psychocardiology as a truly constructive intermingling of these seemingly separate areas of investigation and discourse – a new field in which the Gestalt principle is beautifully illustrated, that the whole is indeed greater than the sum of the parts. But naturally, the success of this objective will be for the reader to judge. In our respective careers in psychocardiology, we have each, at various times, been so fortunate to have been in the company of some real giants in the area. One of us (MA) has had the benefit of working closely with Professor Murray Esler, and his quite pioneering research on bringing cardiology together with psychology has been inspirational. And for the other of us (DB), the opportunity some time ago to have researched and published with one of the true (perhaps grand) parents of cardiac psychology, the late Dr. Ray Rosenman, was an undeserved but deeply appreciated privilege, and a formative experience never to be forgotten. A number of colleagues generously reviewed chapter content for us, and we are grateful in particular to Professor Murray Esler (Prof. Murray D. Esler, Senior Director, BakerIDI Heart and Diabetes Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia) and Dr. Miguel A. Fernandez Rubio (Dr. Miguel A. Fernandez Rubio, Unit Head, Youth ELMHS, and Consultant Psychiatrist, RAPP Team,

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