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The research team, led by Xiao Xu, PhD, assistant professor of
obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at Yale University in
New Haven, CT, publishes their findings inCirculation- a journal of
the American Heart Association.
Each year, around 720,000 people in the US have a heart attack. Of
these, around 35,000 occur among women under the age of 65.
The researchers explain that past studies have shown mental stresscan
reduce blood flow in the body and encourage plaque formation in the
arteries, which can raise the risk of heart attack. In addition,
stress has been linked to behaviors that may negatively impact health
outcomes, including failure to adhere to treatment.
For their study, Xu and her team set out to determine whether there
are differences in stress levels between men and women who experience
heart attack, and if so, how these differences affect recovery.
The researchers analyzed data of 2,397 women and 1,175 men aged 18-55
who were a part of the Variation in Recovery: Role of Gender on
Outcomes of Young AMI Patients (VIRGO) study.
All participants were heart attack survivors. During their first stay
in hospital for the condition, the researchers used a 14-item scale to
measure the subjects' perceived stress levels.Findings 'highlight the
need to consider how stress may affect patient recovery'
At 1 month after heart attack, the researchers assessed how each
patient was recovering, as measured by chest-pain-related physical
function, overall health, quality of life, among other factors.
The team found that women had worse recovery following heart attack
than men. In addition, women were found to have significantly higher
levels of mental stress than men, which the researchers say may partly
explain their poorer recovery.
The team found that women were more likely than men to report stress
due to a family conflict in the past year (33% vs. 20%), a major
personal injury or illness (22.4% vs. 16.6%) or the death or illness
of a close relative (36.6% vs. 27.8%).
Stress due to a business or crop failure affected men more than women
(7.4% vs. 3.5%), and men were more likely to be worried about
financial issues.
The researchers say their findings emphasize the need to consider how
stress and other psychosocial factors may affect the recovery of
patients following heart attack.
Senior study author Dr. Harlan Krumholz, director of the Center for
Outcomes Research and Evaluation at Yale-New Haven Hospital and a
professor at the School of Medicine and Public Health at Yale
University, adds:
A new study finds that among young and middle-aged individuals who
have a heart attack, women experience higher levels of mental stress
than men, which could have negative implications for their recovery.
In that study, published in the Journal of the American College of
Cardiology, the team found that women exposed to mental stress were
more likely to have myocardial ischemia – reduced blood flow to the
heart – and early formation of blood clots than stressed men, but men
were more likely to experience changes in blood pressureand heart
rate in response to mental stress.
"This study revealed that mental stress affects the cardiovascular
health of men and women differently," said study leader Dr. Zainab
Samad, of Duke University in Durham, NC. "We need to recognize this
difference when evaluating and treating patients for cardiovascular
disease."
Credit: Medical News
