Heart Disease

Product Description

Despite the stunning progress in medical research that has been achieved over the past few decades, heart disease remains the leading cause of death and disability among adults in many industrialized countries. Behavioral and psychosocial factors play important roles in the development and progression of heart disease, as well as in how patients adapt to the challenges of living with this illness. This volume in the series Advances in Psychotherapy provides readers with a succinct introduction to behavioral and psychosocial treatment of the two most prevalent cardiac conditions, coronary heart disease and congestive heart failure. It summarizes the latest research on the intricate relationships between these conditions and psychosocial factors such as stress, depression, and anger, as well as behavioral factors such as physical inactivity and non-adherence to cardiac medication regimens. It draws upon lessons learned from a wide range of studies, including the landmark ENRICHD and SADHART clinical trials. It then goes on to provide practical, evidence-based recommendations and clinical tools for assessing and treating these problems. Heart Disease is an indispensable treatment manual for professionals who work with cardiac patients.

From the Reviews

"The guide offered by Skala, Freedland, and Carney provides a useful tool in the implementation of [recent]... important findings. It makes a very beneficial contribution to bridging potential gaps and is likely to make treatment in both biomedical and psychological realms more pertinent to the lives of heart patients. ... Every now and then, academic practitioners communicate in a clear, straightforward manner, and these authors have managed the task exceptionally well. ... Readers will find an extremely useful guide that can be repeatedly mined as a valuable resource. ... The volume, part of the series Advances in Psychotherapy: Evidence-Based Practice, is designed for practitioners who may be called on to help patients with coronary heart disease or congestive heart failure. Psychotherapists will appreciate the short tutorials on key medical terms and how to find additional scholarly articles specific to them. The page design and text layout make it easy to identify key points through the use of bolding and notations in the margins. Additional checklists, tables, and references make this volume especially useful. Where other texts might be ponderous or obtuse, this one cuts straight to the chase."
Cheryl B. Travis in PsycCRITIQUES, February 8, 2006 Vol. 51 (6), Article 9