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For Immediate Release | For more information, contact: |
Psychosomatic not all in your headFRIDLEY, Minn. 08/31/2006--Anil Sipahimalani, MD, of Unity Hospital, has earned certification in psychosomatic medicine by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
Anil Sipahimalani, MD, of Unity Hospital Psychosomatic medicine is a relatively new subspecialty that reflects a growing abundance of research that shows connections between emotional and physical problems. It links psychiatry with the other medical specialties. This field has traditionally been thought of as the “mind and body connection.” However, Dr. Sipahimalani says, “I now like to think of it as the ‘brain and body’ connection, because of the abundance of biological research available linking brain chemistry alterations to different medical conditions. “It’s really fascinating how much is being learned about the link between the brain and physical illness.” For example, says Sipahimalani, anxiety is often related to ulcers and gastric reflux disease, and panic attacks are often mistaken for heart attacks. “People go to emergency rooms and receive a lot of tests for physical problems that are emotionally based,” says Sipahimalani. The reverse can also be true. Heart disease, for instance, can lead to depression. “Statistically, a person who has had a recent heart attack and has depression is four times more likely to die than someone with heart disease who is not depressed. Depression can also cause the person to be sedentary or forget to take medicine,” he says. “Treating depression improves the physical illness, partly because the person is more likely to comply with other medications.” A major improvement in the diagnosis and treatment of Sipahimalani’s patients has been the electronic medical record. Most of his patients have multiple physician specialists and take multiple medications. “I can see all of their medical histories and prescriptions in one place. I don’t have to spend time making phone calls and waiting for hard copies of medical records,” he says. Talk therapy and education can help patients manage their emotional responses and improve their physical health. However, Sipahimalani says people whose brain chemistry makes them vulnerable to psychiatric disorders often need help in the form of drugs and other treatments. Sipahimalani says patients seem to be encouraged by the new treatment approach – helping their physical selves by treating their emotional selves. “They say ‘this is something I can do to help myself.’” More about Anil Sipahimalani, MD Originally from India, Sipahimalani was involved in post-graduate research in pharmacology at T.N. Medical College in Bombay and the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. He performed his medical internship and psychiatric residency at State University of New York Health Science Center in Syracuse. Sipahimalani has been on the medical staff of Mercy & Unity Hospitals and a physician with Allina Behavioral Health Services since 1997. He is the medical director of the Allina Northtown Clinic. In addition to psychosomatic medicine, which is the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric illness among people with chronic and complicated medical conditions, his other clinical areas of interest include depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, mood disorders in women including post-partum depression, neuropsychiatry and community psychiatry. Certified in Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology since 1998, Sipahimalani is a member of the Minnesota Psychiatric Society and the American Psychiatric Association. Mercy & Unity Hospitals, located in Coon Rapids and Fridley, are non-profit hospitals that serve the northern Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The hospitals, which are part of Allina Hospitals & Clinics, are located on the Internet at www.mercyunity.com. # # # |
