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Cardiovascular Reactivity to Mental Stress in the Stockholm Female Coronary Risk Study

From the Department of Psychology (G.W.), State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York; Department of Health Psychology (C.-W.K.), University of Education, Schwäbisch-Gmünd, Germany; Departments of Preventive Medicine (M.H., S.P.W., K.O.-G.) and Cardiology (K.S.-G.), Karolinska Institute, Stockholm; Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm; and the Student Health Center (M.H.), University of Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.

Address reprint requests to: Gerdi Weidner, Preventive Medicine Research Institute, Sausalito, CA 94965. Email: gweidner{at}yahoo.com

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the ability of mental stress testing to discriminate between women with and without CHD, and among women with different disease manifestations, taking into account history of hypertension and ß-blocker use.

METHODS: Analyses were based on data from a community-based case-control study of women aged 65 years or younger. The study group consisted of 292 women who were hospitalized for an acute event of CHD, either AMI or unstable AP in Stockholm between 1991 and 1994. Controls were matched to cases by age and catchment area. Cardiovascular reactivity and emotional response to an anagram task solved under time pressure were measured 3 to 6 months after hospitalization.

RESULTS: Patients reacted with smaller increases in heart rate (4 bpm) than their controls (7 bpm). Results for the rate-pressure product were similar. Cardiovascular reactions did not distinguish patients with AP from those with AMI. History of hypertension (present in 50% of patients and 11% of controls) was related to enhanced diastolic blood pressure reactivity. Patients on ß-blockers (66%) had lower heart-rate levels throughout testing, but did not differ in their cardiovascular stress reactions when compared with the remaining participants.

CONCLUSIONS: Women with heart disease have somewhat lower heart-rate responses to stress than healthy age-matched controls. History of hypertension is related to enhanced diastolic blood pressure reactivity to mental stress in both patients and controls.

Key Words: cardiovascular stress reactivity, • coronary heart disease, • history of hypertension, • women.

Abbreviations: AP = angina pectoris;; (A)MI = (acute) myocardial infarction;; BMI = body mass index;; BP = blood pressure;; CHD = coronary heart disease;; DBP = diastolic blood pressure;; HR = heart rate;; RPP = rate-pressure product;; SBP = systolic blood pressure;; WHO = World Health Organization.

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