Stress and the Heart Psychosocial Pathways to Coronary Heart Disease

This book brings together the evidence on psychosocial factors that influence the causation and progression of coronary heart disease. These include macrosocial factors such as social class, broad social influences such as the impact of work and social support and personal aspects such as depression and hostility. An important part of the book is the description of psychological and social influences on diet, smoking and physical activity all of which may be implicated in the causation of heart disease.These psychosocial factors are linked to the metabolic and physiological pathways involved in the development of coronary heart disease and their links with genetic characteristics are explored. Finally recent psychosocial intervention studies are reviewed.

Introductory chapter. Social class and coronary heart disease. The life course, stress and heart disease. Work and coronary heart disease. Social support and coronary heart disease. Hostility and heart disease. Depression and coronary heart disease. Impact of stress on diet: processes and implications. Stress and smoking. Psycho–physiological responsivity in coronary heart disease. Stress mechanisms and coronary heart disease. Arterial and myocardial structure and function. Social and psychosocial influences on sudden cardiac death. Stress and gene environment interactions in coronary heart disease. Psychosocial interventions in coronary heart disease

Stephen Stansfield is a Professor of Psychiatry and works as an honorary consultant psychiatrist in psychiatric rehabilitation for the East London Foundation. Sir Michael Gideon Marmot, FBA, FMedSci, FRCP is Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London.