Cardiovascular Implications of Stress and Depression

Paul Chantler, PhD, is an Associate Professor at West Virginia University. His research focuses on the interaction with chronic disease states, in particular how chronic stress/depression impacts cardiac, arterial, and cerebrovascular biology and function. Dr. Chantler operates both human and basic science labs that allow his research questions to be translated from the bench to clinical human studies. Kevin T. Larkin, PhD, ABPP, is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at the West Virginia University. His research focuses on applied psychophysiology and clinical health psychology, with a special interest in how behavioral and emotional factors influence health. Dr. Larkin also directs the Behavioral Physiology Laboratory and his applied research has focused on patients with cardiovascular disease, essential hypertension, and other health conditions. He is board certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology in the area of clinical health psychology.

• 1. IntroductionSection 1: EVIDENCE LINKING STRESS WITH DEPRESSION AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE2. Epidemiological Evidence Linking Stress and Depression with CVD3. Translational Research from Animal Models4. Intervention Research on Therapies that aim to Treat Depression and Cardiovascular DiseaseSection 2: MECHANISMS LINKING STRESS AND DEPRESSION WITH CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE5. Autonomic and Neuroendocrine Response to Stress6. Circulatory System Alterations under Stress 7. Cortical Responses to Stress and Depression8. The Role of Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in Depression and Cardiovascular Disease9. Social Support and Stress, Depression and Cardiovascular Disease 10. The Influence of Health Behaviors upon the Association between Stress and Depression and Cardiovascular Disease11. The Gut-Brain Axis: The Missing Link in Depression 12. Future Directions and Concluding Remarks