Subacute psychobiological factors predisposing to triggering of coronary syndromes

Historically, the distinction between mind and matter had its most comprehensive philosophic development in the early 17th century by Descartes who conceived of two independent, though parallel, worlds — mind and matter, each uninfluenced by the other. Science and observation however, contradict such a paradigm and contemporary thought clearly rejects such a dualism. The influence of mind on physical health, and the power of mind to cause illness and even death was vividly described in an article by Walter Cannon [1] on “Voodoo” death, in which he describes reports as early as 1587 of South American Indians dying of fright when condemned by “medicine men.” There is similar testimony from Africa, New Zealand, Australia and other places, reporting shock induced by prolonged and tense emotion, which results in a precipitous fall in blood pressure and culminates in death. The symptoms prior to death described in these reports, are strikingly similar to profound depression. The victim refuses to eat or drink, is filled with misery, withdraws, and “pines away.” Unfortunately, the implications of such reports were not pursued by rigorous scientific inquiry. Recently however, there is renewed interest in sub-acute psychobiological factors as precursors of cardiovascular events.