Heart Disease Occurs in a Biological, Psychological, and Social Matrix: Cardiac Risk Factors, Symptom Presentation, and Recovery as Illustrative Examples

Despite the basic premise of behavioral medicine that understanding and treatment of physical well-being require a full appreciation of the confluence of micro-, molar-, and macro-variables, the field tends to focus on linear, causal relationships. In this paper, we argue that more attention be given to a dynamic matrix approach, which assumes that biological, psychological, and social elements are interconnected and continually influence each...