Chronic Stress Tied to Heart, Stroke Risks in Men
 (NY, Reuters Health, 6/29/04)

From 1974 through 1980, Dr. Bertil Ohlin of University Hospital in Malmo, Sweden, and team, queried more than 13,600 middle-aged adults about their stress levels during recent years and then tracked their cardiovascular health until 1999. The investigators found that the men who had reported experiencing constant stress were especially likely to suffer heart disease or stroke in the intervening years, while the risk was only slightly elevated for stressed women. Scientists note that ongoing anxiety may compromise cardiovascular health in numerous ways. Stress can produce physical changes, such as elevated hormones, that directly harm arteries and it can also cause indirect damage by promoting self-destructive behavior, like smoking.

(European Heart Journal, May 2004