Psychosocial risk factors for coronary heart disease in women: The stockholm studies of women’s hearts

Abstract

Previous research on coronary risk factors has defined risk profiles for coronary heart disease (CHD) largely according to the male norm, but emerging research has described female deviations from this norm: Women with an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) complain of tiredness and nausea rather than central chest pain. Women more often than men have diabetes and hypertension. Smoking, sedentary life, and other risk behaviors convey a stronger risk in women. Women are more stress sensitive, and they report more negative feelings, particularly depressed mood and fatigue/exhaustion. Stockholm women with CVD were typical of women in these respects. Almost all women patients were employed outside home, but in contrast to men, they reported being stressed by family rather than by the job. In particular the two stressors combined, accelerated the coronary artery atherosclerosis and worsened prognosis. Conclusion: Women’s stress, their emotions, their lifestyle and associated CVD risk differ from that of men and require their own specific methods of primary and secondary prevention.