Editorial

Cardiac Rehab in the Quest for a Happier and Healthier Heart

Authors: James H. O'Keefe, MD, John H. Lee, MD

Abstract

Over the course of the millennia, cultures from around the world independently came to the same erroneous conclusion that emotions originate in the heart. Indeed, the words anger, angst, anguish, and angina all derived from the same Greek root word meaning constriction. Though emotions emanate from the brain, they resonate powerfully and almost instantaneously with the heart and cardiovascular (CV) system. A growing body of data indicates that a happy and socially connected heart is generally healthier than a heart burdened by depression, loneliness, anger, or anxiety.

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