Related Experiment Videos
Negative emotion and coronary heart disease. A review
Brian C Sirois1, Matthew M Burg
1VA Connecticut Healthcare System, USA.
Insights
Negative emotions like depression and anxiety significantly harm coronary heart disease (CHD) patients. Interventions targeting these emotions show promise for improving cardiovascular health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Psychology
- Psychosomatic Medicine
Background:
- Negative emotions, including depression, anger, hostility, and anxiety, are increasingly recognized as significant factors impacting cardiovascular health.
- Coronary heart disease (CHD) patients are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of these psychological states.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the existing literature on the influence of specific negative emotions on coronary heart disease (CHD).
- To elucidate the pathophysiological pathways linking negative emotional states to cardiac risk.
- To summarize the efficacy of interventions aimed at mitigating the impact of negative emotions on cardiovascular health.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature review of studies investigating the relationship between depression, anger/hostility, anxiety, and CHD.
- Analysis of evidence demonstrating the detrimental effects of negative affect on CHD patient outcomes.
- Examination of the mechanisms by which emotional factors translate into cardiac risk factors.
Main Results:
- Consistent evidence indicates that depression, anger/hostility, and anxiety negatively impact health outcomes in patients with CHD.
- Pathophysiological mechanisms linking negative emotions to increased cardiac risk have been identified.
- Multicomponent interventions designed to address negative emotions show potential benefits for cardiovascular health.
Conclusions:
- Negative emotional states pose a significant threat to individuals with coronary heart disease.
- Understanding the transduction of emotional factors into cardiac risk is crucial for effective prevention and treatment.
- Targeted interventions can ameliorate the adverse effects of negative emotions on cardiovascular health in CHD populations.
Abstract:
This article reviews literature regarding the influence of negative emotions, specifically depression, anger/hostility, and anxiety on coronary heart disease (CHD). For each domain, evidence is presented demonstrating the deleterious effects of negative affect on health outcomes in patients with CHD. This is followed by a discussion of the manner in which emotional factors are transduced into cardiac health risk factors. The pathophysiological mechanisms by which negative emotions have been found to exert an influence on CHD are highlighted. Finally, a general overview of the outcomes of interventions designed to ameliorate the effects of these negative emotional states on cardiovascular health are reviewed. Several treatment studies are described in detail for the purpose of elaborating the types of multicomponent interventions that attempt to address negative emotions in populations with CHD.