Stress Proof the Heart

Ellen Dornelas, Ph.D. is associate professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine at Farmington and director of behavioral health programs at the Henry Low Heart Center, Hartford Hospital. She received her Ph.D. from Yeshiva University in 1993. For the past 15 years, she has worked as a hospital-based psychologist, treating cardiac patients in medical inpatient, outpatient psychotherapy, and cardiac rehabilitation settings. She was trained as a clinical health psychologist and has a strong background in research in adapting psychotherapeutic approaches to meet the needs of medical patients. She edited a special issue of In Session: The Journal of Clinical Psychology called Integrating Health Psychology into Clinical Practice. In addition, for several years she was the media spokesperson for Connecticut’s anti-tobacco coalition.

• Part I. Psychological Challenges of Heart Disease.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Psychological Challenges of Coping with Coronary Artery Disease.- 3. Sudden cardiac arrest: a biopsychosocial approach to patient management of ventricular fibrillation and implantable cardioverter defibrillators.- 4. Atrial Fibrillation: A Biopsychosocial Approach to Patient Management.- 5. Psychological Management of the Patient with Heart Failure.- 6. Psychiatric symptoms, personality profile and Takotsubo syndrome: Clinical considerations.- 7. Psychological Aspects of Cardiac Transplantation.- Part II.  Psychological Interventions for Cardiac Patients.- 8. Anxiety and depression:  Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease.- 9. Interventions in the Context of the Distressed (Type D) Personality.- 10. Stress Management with Cardiac Patients.- 11. The Effects of Meditation and Yoga on Cardiovascular Disease.- 12. Job Stress and Overcommittment in Cardiac Patients.- 13. Managing Sleep Problems Among Cardiac Patients.- 14. Exercise as Medicine for Cardiac Patients.- 15. Approaches to Smoking Cessation in a Cardiovascular Population.- Advances in Cardiac Psychology: Computerized Therapies.- Behavioral Cardiology: Toward the Development of Integrated Treatment Models.

"This book addresses the issue of psychological problems that are often comorbid in patients with serious heart diseases. It is a compilation of 17 chapters written by various authors: psychiatrists, behavioural scientists, cardiologists, cardiac surgeons and nurses. ... As a resource material for future research, the book is a valuable resource for researchers interested in the subject." (R. P. Sapru, Indian Journal of Medical Research, Vol. 138, August, 2013) "... gathers the latest clinical research on what works ..." "... absolutely essential reading for any clinician working with [cardiac patients] in any setting." New England Psychologist, June 2014