title: Stress and cardiovascular disease: an update on current knowledge.
abstract: Considerable progress has been made during the past decade in research on cardiovascular effects of stress. Early-life stressors, such as childhood abuse and early socioeconomic adversity, are linked to increased cardiovascular morbidity in adulthood. Our updated meta-analyses of prospective studies published until 2011 show a 1.5-fold (95% confidence interval 1.2-1.9) increased risk of coronary heart disease among adults experiencing social isolation and a 1.3-fold (1.2-1.5) excess risk for workplace stress; adverse metabolic changes are one of the underlying plausible mechanisms. Stress, anger, and depressed mood can act as acute triggers of major cardiac events; the pooled relative risk of acute coronary syndrome onset being preceded by stress is 2.5 (1.8-3.5) in case-crossover studies. Stress is also implicated in the prognosis of cardiovascular disease and in the development of stress (takotsubo) cardiomyopathy. A major challenge over the next decade is to incorporate stress processes into the mainstream of cardiovascular pathophysiological research and understanding.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom. a.steptoe@ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Steptoe
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kivimäki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000209:etiology; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000209:etiology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*