Being positive or optimistic are often considered as traits, but evidence suggests that with some training, it’s possible to tweak one’s mindset towards these features. Research shows that characteristics like optimism can be increased with training, and this in turn could result in better heart health (11).

We would like to thank Dr. Victoria Macht Preston for constructing the figure. Support for the meeting provided through a BLRD Veterans Administration Field Meeting Proposal awarded to the William Jennings Bryan Dorn VA Medicine Center (now the Columbia VA Health Care System, Columbia, SC). Support to MAW from VA Merit Awards I01 BX001374, IO1 BX001804 and I21 BX002085. Support to MLL from VA Merit Award 5I01BX000505 and from NIH HL075360, HL129823, and HL137319. Support to VBR by VA Merit Award BX004312, NIAAA AA026560 and the VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health. Support to RS from VA Merit award 2I01BX001075. Support to SKW from VA Award I21 BX002085 and BX001374 and from NIH MH113892 and American Heart Association 15SDG224300017. Support to FS from VA Merit 2I01-BX000168 and NIH R01HL130972. Cameron VA, Mocatta TJ, Pilbrow AP, Frampton CM, Troughton RW, Richards AM, & Winterbourn CC (2006). Angiotensin type-1 receptor A1166C gene polymorphism correlates with oxidative stress levels in human heart failure. Hypertension, 47( 6), 1155–1161. doi: 10.1161/01.HYP.0000222893.85662.cd [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar]Crestani CC (2016). Emotional Stress and Cardiovascular Complications in Animal Models: A Review of the Influence of Stress Type. Front Physiol, 7, 251. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2016.00251 [ PMC free article] [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] Deslauriers J, Acheson DT, Maihofer AX, Nievergelt CM, Baker DG, Geyer MA,… Marine Resiliency Study, T. (2018). COMT val158met polymorphism links to altered fear conditioning and extinction are modulated by PTSD and childhood trauma. Depress Anxiety, 35( 1), 32–42. doi: 10.1002/da.22678 [ PMC free article] [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] The biological pathways of the heart-mind connection are not yet completely understood. One suggested mechanism is an increase inthe“good cholesterol” (high-density lipoprotein)levels seen with higher levels of psychological well-being (3,4).Another possible mechanism is reduction in inflammation – a harmful process well-recognized in the development of atherosclerosis, a process known to be at the heart of heart disease (5,6). Jung DW, Lee YJ, Jeong DU, & Park KS (2017). New predictors of sleep efficiency. Chronobiol Int, 34( 1), 93–104. doi: 10.1080/07420528.2016.1241802 [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] Cohen S, Ifergane G, Vainer E, Matar MA, Kaplan Z, Zohar J,… Cohen H (2016). The wake-promoting drug modafinil stimulates specific hypothalamic circuits to promote adaptive stress responses in an animal model of PTSD. Transl Psychiatry, 6( 10), e917. doi: 10.1038/tp.2016.172 [ PMC free article] [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar]

Heart to Heart connection has never been more important, especially in these times of civil unrest and Covid-19 social distancing. There are many difficult conversations happening. Sometimes we have them from afar, and often online. So understanding the importance of heart to heart connection and learning how to have difficult conversations that lead to a deeper understanding is more important now than ever before. To ensure an adequate blood supply around your body, the4 chambers of your heart have to pump regularly and in the right sequence.Let your whole self be seen with courage. As you speak and listen from an open heart, words of kindness, honesty, and compassion will follow. When you practice more, trust will grow and the walls that keep you from connecting deeply will come down. Finally, remember to stay active intellectually, emotionally and socially, Wheeler said. That might involve reading, listening to music, pursuing hobbies or talking to friends.

At the University of Bristol, BHF-funded researcher Professor Paolo Madeddu is studying how diabetescauses damage to bone marrow. We know that diabetes can gradually damage blood vessels, which increases the risk of heart and circulatory diseases. This blood vessel damage impairs blood flow to bone marrow, which in turn decreases the amount of stem cells produced by bone marrow and with it the body’s ability to repair itself. The Laceys noticed that the model proposed by Cannon only partially matched actual physiological behavior. As their research evolved, they found that the heart in particular seemed to have its own logic that frequently diverged from the direction of autonomic nervous system activity. The heart was behaving as though it had a mind of its own. Furthermore, the heart appeared to be sending meaningful messages to the brain that the brain not only understood, but also obeyed. Even more intriguing was that it looked as though these messages could affect a person’s perceptions, behavior and performance. The Laceys identified a neural pathway and mechanism whereby input from the heart to the brain could inhibit or facilitate the brain’s electrical activity. Then in 1974, French researchers stimulated the vagus nerve (which carries many of the signals from the heart to the brain) in cats and found that the brain’s electrical response was reduced to about half its normal rate. [1] This suggested that the heart and nervous system were not simply following the brain’s directions, as Cannon had thought. Rather, the autonomic nervous system and the communication between the heart and brain were much more complex, and the heart seemed to have its own type of logic and acted independently of the signals sent from the brain. Gill J, Mustapic M, Diaz-Arrastia R, Lange R, Gulyani S, Diehl T,… Kapogiannis D (2018). Higher exosomal tau, amyloid-beta 42 and IL-10 are associated with mild TBIs and chronic symptoms in military personnel. Brain Inj, 32( 10), 1277–1284. doi: 10.1080/02699052.2018.1471738 [ PMC free article] [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar]Superior vena cava: This large vein delivers oxygen-poor blood from your upper body into your heart’s right atrium. Here’s an example from my work life where I had to have a difficult conversation with a team member… The whole point of this is to lead longer lives full of joy and excitement," he said. "Live your life and your brain will be stronger for it." Orexins also modulate cardiovascular functions, through both central autonomic control and peripheral actions. The extensive projections of orexin neurons to brainstem areas such as the LC and rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) anatomically support their role in the central regulation of autonomic responses, especially cardiovascular responses to stress ( Carrive, 2017; Grimaldi, Silvani, Benarroch, & Cortelli, 2014) and sympathetic regulation associated with chronic hypertension ( Abreu et al., 2018). In a rat model of myocardial infarction and progressive HFrEF, a significant reduction in orexin mRNA levels was associated with the degree of cardiovascular compromise ( Hayward et al., 2015), while in an Ox2R deflicient transgenic mouse model cardiac function worsened with overstimulation of the sympathetic or angiotensin receptor pathways ( Perez et al., 2015). In human studies, a specific single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) within the OxR2 was identified in HFrEF patients ( Perez et al., 2015). This orexin receptor gene variant was not only present in a subset of HFrEF patients using GWAS, but more importantly, those HFrEF patients appeared to be more refractory to conventional HF therapeutics. Further, higher OxA plasma levels in HFrEF patients were associated with greater functional improvements following conventional HF therapeutics when compared to HFrEF patients with low OxA plasma levels ( Ibrahim et al., 2016). These studies continue to provide support for the postulate that a relative reduction in specific bioactive signaling pathways, such as that of orexin, can potentially accelerate the HF process as well as influence response to HF therapeutics. Figure 1.2 Microscopic image of interconnected intrinsic cardiac ganglia in the human heart. The thin, light-blue structures are multiple axons that connect the ganglia.

Pulmonary veins: Carry oxygen-rich blood from your lungs to your heart. All of your pulmonary veins (usually four) directly empty into your heart’s left atrium. Berridge CW, Espana RA, & Vittoz NM (2010). Hypocretin/orexin in arousal and stress. Brain Res, 1314, 91–102. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2009.09.019 [ PMC free article] [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] And if they don’t, then “that perfect person” that they believe they deserve and were meant to have, is only a “smart phone” swipe away.

Font with connecting hearts...

Bruijnzeel AW, Stam R, Croiset G, & Wiegant VM (2001). Long-term sensitization of cardiovascular stress responses after a single stressful experience. Physiol Behav, 73( 1–2), 81–86. doi:S0031-9384(01)00435-8 [pii] [ PubMed] [ Google Scholar] Appleton A, Kubzansky LD. Emotional regulation and cardiovascular disease risk.Gross JJ, ed. In: Handbook of Emotion Regulation. The Guildford Press2014596–612 Another recent study found stiffening of the arteries is linked to reduced blood flow in the brain. It's possible that harmful blood pressure resulting from stiffening of the arteries might injure the brain's smaller, more fragile blood vessels, said the study's lead author Angela Jefferson, a professor of neurology and director of Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer's Center in Nashville. The 2 small upper chambers are the atria. The 2 larger lower chambers are the ventricles. These left and right sides of the heart are separated by a wall of muscle called the septum. Circulatory system