Cardiac psychology

History

The earliest published mention of cardiac psychology in Western medicine literature was in 1628 when William Harvey wrote that "a mental disturbance provoking pain, excessive joy, hope or anxiety extends to the heart, where it affects temper." Research labs have been founded at Tilburg University, Tilburg Netherlands led by Susanne Pedersen, and at East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina led by Samuel Sears, that focus on psychological aspects of cardiac disease. Cardiac psychology as a term was first used by Robert Allan, PhD, and Stephen Schiedt, MD, as a title of their 1996 book, Heart and Mind: The Practice of Cardiac Psychology and launched increased attention to the clinical practice of cardiac psychology. More recently, additional texts, such as Psychotherapy with Cardiac Patients, (2008) by Ellen Dornelas, have attempted to update the literature related to clinical techniques used in the care of cardiac patients. Significant research reviews have also been published spanning psychological factors in cardiac care, implantable electronic medical devices (pacemaker, implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, etc.) and congestive heart failure.