A review of the relationship between the heart function and cardiotonic strategies for the prevention of depression from the Avicenna’s perspective

Despite different treatments in recent years, prevalence of depression has become a serious concern in the field of mental health. According to the definitions of depression signs in psychological references, it seems that these parameters are close to some types of heart dysfunction in Traditional Persian Medicine. So, getting more familiar with heart function from the viewpoint of Avicenna could be the beginning of understanding the relationship between heart and depression and help prevent this disease.

 This review study was conducted to investigate the relationship between heart function and depression based on Ibn Sina’s viewpoint from his book "Canon of medicine". Related literatures in modern medicine were also searched using PubMed / MEDLINE, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases.

Linking the cardiac function and susceptibility to depressive disorder, strategies to improve heart function and improve its function were presented in this study as preventive health measures for reducing the incidence of depression.

Cardiotonic strategies can be effective in the prevention and treatment of depression.