Medical studies show that the mind and body are strongly linked. If you start to wear down from stress, depression, or anxiety, then your cardiac health can decline too. Similarly, worsening cardiac symptoms can make you feel mentally "down." Heart failure patients often experience changes in emotional functioning and stress throughout the course of diagnosis and treatment. Cardiac treatment is most successful when it focuses on both the physical and emotional health of the patient. Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Center for Heart Failure at the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute offers Cardiac Behavioral Medicine services which include comprehensive care in the evaluation and treatment of heart failure by addressing the emotional and behavioral components of heart disease.
Cardiac Behavioral Medicine helps heart failure patients and their families adjust to the diagnosis of heart failure. Patients are educated about the role of emotions and stress in their cardiac health. They are taught new ways of relaxing and coping so that their heart is not harmed by daily stress and hassles. Lifestyle behavior changes are tackled in a supportive setting to help patients achieve their goals of quitting smoking, losing weight, or adhering to a new exercise regimen. Transplant candidates are provided with support and therapy to help them transition well throughout the transplant process.
Kim R. Lebowitz, PhD, director of Cardiac Behavioral Medicine Gail M. Osterman, PhD and Anjannette Padilla Ryan, PhD candidate and post-doctoral fellow, specialize in helping cardiac patients adjust to a diagnosis and become more resilient throughout the course of treatment. Their techniques include strategies that facilitate behavior change, improve coping strategies, minimize stress, and correct faulty ways of thinking, like those associated with hostility or pessimism.
Cardiac Behavioral Medicine is helpful for a variety of presenting issues, including stress, depression, anxiety, panic, perfectionism, adjustment to a medical diagnosis, coping with a chronic illness, relaxation training, smoking cessation, hypnosis, behavior changes, and preparation for an upcoming surgery or procedure, including cardiac transplant surgery. Various support groups also are available throughout the year.
Contact
To schedule an
evaluation or inquire about services regarding Cardiac Behavioral
Medicine through the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, please call (312) 695-4965.
