Current Research
The Broken Heart Study – II
HETEROGENEITY AND PREDICTORS OF STRESS REACTIVITY IN TAKOTSUBO SYNDROME
This ongoing project is designed to study the triggers of Takotsubo syndrome (also known as Broken Heart Syndrome), determine whether people with this condition are unusually responsive to stress, and whether a greater response to stress puts patients at risk of another episode.
This project is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
The Mind Your Heart Study – II
TARGETING COGNITIVE FUNCTION AND INTEROCEPTIVE AWARENESS TO IMPROVE SELF-MANAGEMENT IN PATIENTS WITH CO-MORBID HEART FAILURE AND COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT
This ongoing project is designed to investigate how mindfulness training can improve cognitive function, interoceptive awareness and Heart Failure self-care among individuals with co-morbid Heart Failure and Mild Cognitive Impairment and to study the pathway connecting mindfulness training, cardiac vagal control and cognitive function. This project is funded by the National Institute on Aging.
The Mind 2 Move Study
TAI CHI EXERCISE AND WEARABLE FEEDBACK TECHNOLOGY TO PROMOTE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN ACS SURVIVORS
In collaboration with Dr. Gloria Yeh and her group at the Harvard Medical School we will study whether a remote Tai Chi intervention, integrated with wearable technology, can improve the ability to exercise in people who have had a heart attack in the past and are not physically active.
We love participation
Are you interested in participating in one of our studies?
Past Research
Mindful Teens Study
MINDFULNESS TRAINING TO PROMOTE HEALTHY DIET AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN TEENS
In collaboration with Dr. Pbert at UMass Medical School, we have examined whether it was feasible to deliver mindfulness training in a school setting and whether it can help improve cardiovascular health behaviors in adolescents. This study was funded by the NHLBI.
Mind Your Heart Study – I
ROLE OF MINDFULNESS TRAINING IN THE PROMOTION OF MEDICATION ADHERENCE IN HEART FAILURE OUTPATIENTS
In this NHLBI-funded project, we study whether phone-delivered mindfulness training can improve adherence to medication among outpatients with chronic heart failure. We also examine whether mindfulness training can improve cognitive function in these patients
Gentle Rehab Study
DEVELOPMENT OF A TAI CHI INTERVENTION TO OVERCOME BARRIERS TO CARDIAC REHABILITATION
We developed a novel protocol of tai chi exercise for patients who had a heart attack and were unable to attend cardiac rehabilitation. We examined whether tai chi can improve physical activity, quality of life, and mood. The study was funded by the NCCIH.
The Active Minds Study
EXPLORING SYNERGISTIC EFFECTS OF AEROBIC EXERCISE AND MINDFULNESS TRAINING ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN OLDER ADULTS
With funding from the Norman Prince Neuroscience Institute and the Mindfulness Center at Brown, we studied whether exercise, mindfulness training, or both, can improve cognitive function in aging individuals at risk of dementia.
Coping with Cardiac Defibrillators Study
A MINDFULNESS-BASED INTERVENTION FOR TREATMENT OF ANXIETY IN ICD PATIENTS
This project studied whether it is feasible to deliver mindfulness training over the phone and whether mindfulness training can improve anxiety in patients who have recently received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator