Review of psychosomatic aspects of cardiovascular disease.

This review deals with the clinically most relevant psychosomatic aspects of cardiovascular disease. Smoking cessation, the role of physical activity in the prevention and rehabilitation of cardiac disease, the relationship of cholesterol to behavior, depression and heart disease, the pharmacotherapy of depression in this specific patient population, the psychiatric risk factors for coronary artery disease, and the treatment of hostility, stress and type A behavior are discussed.