Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is a heterogeneous group of developmental disorders characterized by stereotyped behaviors and thoughts, and deficits in social behavior, interactions, and communication. The epidemiological evidence shows an increase in the prevalence of ASD although the etiology and pathology of ASD are still largely unknown. In addition to the core symptoms, patients with ASD show emotional and cognitive deficits, and are thought to suffer from abnormal levels of arousal and therefore increasingly studies have been performed to investigate alterations in the autonomic nervous system. The aim of the review is to focus on the changes in the cardiovascular system. Overall, the literature provides some evidence for an increase in baseline heart rate (HR) and a decrease in HR variability (HRV), specifically for high-frequency respiratory sinus arrhythmia. However, the review also illustrates the large variability in results. This is in part due to differences in methodology, but also to the heterogeneity of ASD per se. Moreover, as ASD already occurs at a very young age, differences in the age of the patients are also likely to play a role. Therefore, we propose a more systematic analysis of autonomic dysfunction in well-defined patient populations. In addition, given the plethora of genetic and environmental animal models for ASD that have been developed in recent years, we argue that investigation of HR and HRV could substantially improve the translational validity of these models.

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In clinical practise physical illnesses are often accompanied by mental abnormality. Actually due to the development of our modern medical system, the underlying mental abnormality has been increasingly discovered, which in turn not only surprises researchers with the unexpected high morbidity, but also arouse the intense debate whether there is an interaction between mental disorders and physical illnesses. The attempt trying to figure out the mystery of mind and body can date back to the ancient time. It was not until 1818, the German psychiatrist Heinroth proposed the concept of mind-body disease for the first time. Later, William Osler successfully proved the close interaction between coronary heart disease and mental illness by dissecting cadaver of a patient with “angina” finding the coronary perfectly healthy. Owing to the importance of the cardiovascular system and the high sensitivity to the autonomic nervous system which is strongly influenced by the emotion, the intersection of cardiology and psychology gradually became the central issue in studying the physical and mental illness and eventually formed a new branch called “psycho-cardiology”.

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While humans have known that the health of their heart is linked to the health of their mind since ancient times, scientifically evaluating the relationship of the heart and mind has only emerged within the last century. A relevantly new field has developed over the past several decades with names such as “Psychocardiology,”^[1] “Behavioral Cardiology,”^[2] and/or “Neuropsychocardiology”^[3] that designate effort to systematically investigating the interactions of the heart and mind to identify clinical impacts, the underlying mechanisms, and interventions alleviating the adverse interaction of heart and mind. Over a relatively very short period, these investigations have contributed positively to the medical literature elucidating the significant role of mind in cardiovascular health overall, and specifically in several particular clinical entities. The author of this article aims at briefly summarize what has been achieved and shares opinions regarding future directions in this field.

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Objectives: The aim of this study is to explore the effects on serotonergic system of sertraline in the Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats of myocardial infarction (MI), depression, and depression post-MI. Methods: A total of 80 SD rats were randomly allocated into two pretreatment groups, including saline-pretreated group and sertraline-pretreated group. The sertraline-pretreated rats received sertraline and the saline-pretreated rats received saline for the past 4 weeks. Then, the two groups were randomly divided into four subgroups, respectively, including sham, MI, depression, and depression post-MI (MI + depression) subgroup. All animals were then sacrificed after 3 days to observe the effects of sertraline on levels of 5-HT, 5-HT_2AR, and SERT in the rat serum, platelet, and brain. Results: As compared with saline treatment group, serum 5-HT decreased significantly in sham subgroup and increase significantly in MI, depression, and MI-depression subgroups, platelet 5-HT increased significantly, brain 5-HT decreased significantly in the four subgroups after sertraline treatment (all P < 0.05). As compared with saline treatment group, platelet 5-HT_2AR decreased significantly in the sham subgroup and increased significantly in MI and depression subgroups, brain 5-HT_2AR increased significantly in MI subgroup and decreased significantly in depression and MI + depression subgroups after sertraline treatment (all P < 0.05). As compared with saline treatment group, serum SERT decreased significantly in the sham subgroup and increased significantly in depression subgroup, platelet SERT decreased significantly in the four subgroups and brain SERT increased significantly in sham and depression subgroups and decrease significantly in MI subgroup after sertraline treatment (all P < 0.05). Conclusion: Sertraline regulated 5-HT concentration of peripheral blood and brain according to 5-HT_2AR and SERT, thereby regulating the platelet function in various pathological states including MI, depression, and depression post-MI.

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Therapeutic hypothermia has been associated with an increase in thrombotic events, but this point has not been fully clarified. Most patients undergoing therapeutic hypothermia in a cardiac ICU receive antithrombotic treatment, usually in the context of ischemic heart disease. But, what should we do if our patient does not need antithrombotic treatment for any reason? After this case, doubts arise on the need to use an anti-thrombotic treatment on all patients subjected to therapeutic hypothermia in the context of aborted cardiac arrest

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Between 30 and 50% of inpatients treated in cardiology departments have emotional or psychosomatic problems that require psychotherapeutic information, consultation, as well as emotional support. This requirement can be effectively met by a liaison service with psychotherapists who are present on a regular basis and are integrated into the ward team. The psychotherapeutic interventions applied are focused on immediate solutions, the main goal of which is an improvement of the patient's capacity to cope emotionally with heart disease and the interpersonal problems arising from it. Important components of these interventions include the therapeutic relationship, active support in coping with problems, and resource activation. Evaluation of the psychosomatic liaison service by the cardiology nursing staff and doctors reveals a high degree of satisfaction with and acceptance of the liaison service.

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