Stress - Related illness: Cardiovascular disorders

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Psychology (Stress) Mind Map on Stress - Related illness: Cardiovascular disorders, created by samantha_x on 16/03/2014.
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Stress - Related illness: Cardiovascular disorders
  1. actue & chronic stress may affect many different aspects of the cardiovascular system - the heart & circulatory system
    1. e.g. - hypertension (high blood pressure)
      1. cornoary heart disease (CHD) caused by atherosclerosis (narrowing of the coronary arteries)
        1. stroke (damage caused by disruption of blood supply to the brain)
          1. although such cardiovascular disorders are affected by lifestyle, diet, smoking etc - stress has become increasingly implicated in the development of all the disorders listed above
            1. suggestions have been put forward to explain this:
              1. stress activates the sympathetic branch (SNS) of the autonomic nervous system - leads to a constriction of the blood vessels and a rise in blood pressure and heart rate
                1. an increase in heart rate may wear away the lining of blood vessels
                  1. stress leads to increased glucose levels - leading to clumps blocking the blood vessels
    2. research
      1. Russek (1962) looked at heart disease in medical professions
        1. 1 group of doctors was designated as high stress (GPs and anaesthetists) others designated as low stress (pathologists and dermatologists)
          1. Found heart disease greatest among GPs - 11.9%, lowest in dermatologists - 3.2%
            1. supports the view that stress is linked to heart disease
        2. William et al (2000) conducted a study to see whether anger was linked to heart disease
          1. 13,000 people completed 10 - question anger scale
            1. none of the participants suffered heart disease at the outset of the study
              1. 6 years late health of participants was checked - 256 had experienced heart attacks - those who scored highest on the anger scale were over two and a half times more likely to have a heart attack than those with lowest scores
                1. suggests that anger may lead to cardiovascular disorders
        3. evaluation:
          1. the sympathetic branch of the ANS in some individuals is more reactive than others
            1. (Rozanski et al 1999)
              1. means that some people respond to stress with greater increases in blood pressure and heart rate than others, leads to more damge to the cardiovascular system in hyperresponsive indiviudals
            2. Sheps et al (2002)
              1. conducted landmark study which supports that stress can be fatal for people with existing coronary artery disease.
                1. focus their research on voulenteers with ischemia (reduced blood flow to the heart) - gave 173 men and women psychological tests
                  1. blood pressure soared dramtically and in half of them - sections of muscle of the left ventricle began to beat erratically
                    1. 44% of participants who had erratic heartbeats died within 3-4 years compared to 18% who didn't
                      1. shows that psychological stress can increase the risk of death in people with poor conoary artery circulation
              2. Orth - Gomer et al (2000)
                1. showed among married or co-habiting women, marital conflict was associated with a 2.9 fold increase in recurrent levels (e.g. heart attack)
                  1. for women with existing coronary heart disease
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