Cardiovascular disorders (CVDs) are the number one cause of death globally. WHO estimated that 17.3 million people died from CVDs in 2008, representing 30% of all global deaths. By 2030, almost 23.6 million people will die from CVDs, mainly from heart disease and stroke.
Unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and tobacco use are universally identified as the main behavioral risk factors of heart disease and stroke. Also stress (acute and chronic), negative affectivity (e.g. depression, anxiety and anger), some personality traits (e.g. type D personality and hostility), negative illness representations and poor quality of social relations (e.g. problematic couple relationship) are nowadays recognized as important psychosocial risk factors for CVDs. Proper assessment and management of such modifiable factors are thus mandatory both in primary and secondary prevention of CVDs and stroke.
Aim of the present Research Topic is to collect new evidence about the current practice of Psychocardiology, a frontier area of study, research and intervention devoted to effective understanding and management of behavioral, psychological and social factors involved in the development and progression of CVDs.
Keywords:
Psychocardiology, health psychology, Clinical Psychology, cardiac illness, risk factors
Subtopics:
The subtopics to be covered in the Research Topic include, but not limited to:
1. Primary and secondary prevention
2. Rehabilitation
3. Interfaces among biological, psychosocial, social and behavioral factors
4. Assessment approaches
5. Cardiac health promotion
6. Couple and family relationships
7. Evaluation of treatment approaches
8. Ethnicity, social class, sex and gender issues
9. Research methodology, measurement and statistics
10. Implications of research findings for health-related policy
11. Advances in psychocardiological theory
12. Professional issues, including training and supervision
Cardiovascular disorders (CVDs) are the number one cause of death globally. WHO estimated that 17.3 million people died from CVDs in 2008, representing 30% of all global deaths. By 2030, almost 23.6 million people will die from CVDs, mainly from heart disease and stroke.
Unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and tobacco use are universally identified as the main behavioral risk factors of heart disease and stroke. Also stress (acute and chronic), negative affectivity (e.g. depression, anxiety and anger), some personality traits (e.g. type D personality and hostility), negative illness representations and poor quality of social relations (e.g. problematic couple relationship) are nowadays recognized as important psychosocial risk factors for CVDs. Proper assessment and management of such modifiable factors are thus mandatory both in primary and secondary prevention of CVDs and stroke.
Aim of the present Research Topic is to collect new evidence about the current practice of Psychocardiology, a frontier area of study, research and intervention devoted to effective understanding and management of behavioral, psychological and social factors involved in the development and progression of CVDs.
Keywords:
Psychocardiology, health psychology, Clinical Psychology, cardiac illness, risk factors
Subtopics:
The subtopics to be covered in the Research Topic include, but not limited to:
1. Primary and secondary prevention
2. Rehabilitation
3. Interfaces among biological, psychosocial, social and behavioral factors
4. Assessment approaches
5. Cardiac health promotion
6. Couple and family relationships
7. Evaluation of treatment approaches
8. Ethnicity, social class, sex and gender issues
9. Research methodology, measurement and statistics
10. Implications of research findings for health-related policy
11. Advances in psychocardiological theory
12. Professional issues, including training and supervision