[Stress and heart disease in women].

Abstract

Psychosocial aspects of heart diseases have usually been studied in predominantly male patients. Growing evidence shows that the results of these studies cannot simply be generalized to women. The research on associations between psychosocial factors and heart disease, especially coronary heart disease, in women is therefore summarized in a literature review. The literature shows that women are subject to adverse cardiac effects of stress and chronic negative affects in a similar way as men. However, in women the relevant sources of distress are often found in other areas, i.e., in the family and household environment, and less often at the workplace. Especially for working mothers, the combination of professional and household work constitutes a considerable stressor.Stress is also perceived differently in men and women, and it leads to different physiological reactions. One striking example is the recently described "stress cardiomyopathy", an acute, life-threatening illness, which is often triggered by sudden emotional distress and can mainly be found in women. Women with heart disease report more psychological distress in response to their illness than men. As in men, depressive symptoms may negatively impact prognosis. Nevertheless, women receive less rehabilitation treatment than men and also benefit less from common psychological offerings. There is some evidence that women need specially developed psychosocial interventions and should not simply be treated in predominantly male stress-management groups. In clinical practice, gender-specific stressors and accompanying psychological symptoms should be discussed with the female heart patient. If needed, she should receive individualized psychosomatic treatment.