Perceived Stress Linked to Heart Disease

Perceived Stress Linked to Heart Disease

1. People who feel stressed are at risk for developing coronary heart disease

2. As per a meta-analysis published in American Journal of Cardiology, in pooled results from six studies, individuals who had high perceived stress were 27% more likely to develop coronary heart disease subsequently compared with those who had low perceived stress.

3.The magnitude of the relationship with high perceived stress is equivalent of a 50-mg/dL increase in [LDL cholesterol, a 2.7/1.4-mm Hg increase in blood pressure, or five more cigarettes per day.

4. Perceived stress is defined as the general perception that environmental demands exceed perceived capacity regardless of the source of the environmental demand.

5.     Possibilities include increased activity of the hypothalamic pituitary axis, increased sympathetic outflow, or altered behaviors causing insulin resistance and central obesity.