The most significant inherited risk factor in people who develop heart disease early on in life may be stress, according to a study, and it appears that stress has a greater impact on men than women.

Treating emotional stress has been found to be effective in decreasing morbidity and mortality from heart disease. Researchers recommend that patients treated for early onset heart disease--particularly male patients--be evaluated by a psychiatric professional.

The study, which included 100 people with heart disease, took into account patients’ family histories of early heart disease along with evaluations for traditional cardiovascular risk factors including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking and excessive body weight.

Participants also completed a checklist that asked about stress symptoms such as aggravation, irritation, anger and impatience, depression, anxiety and worry. An identical checklist was also completed by participants’ spouses or family members, because often people, especially men, are in denial about emotional stress.

Study findings indicated that:

Family history of heart disease had a greater impact on men than women.

• None of the traditional risk factors for heart disease were significantly different for those with a family history of early heart disease as compared to those who did not have a family history on early onset.
• Men with a family history of early heart disease had significantly higher stress symptom scores than men with no family history of early heart disease.
• Researchers concluded that it’s likely men who get heart disease at a young age might have a genetic predisposition to stress, which causes the disease.

Henry Ford Health System March 6, 2003

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

It has been previously shown that people with heart disease can lower their risk of subsequent cardiac events by over 70 percent if they learn how to manage stress. I am clinically convinced that the vast majority of heart disease and cancer is foundationally related to unresolved emotional conflict. The study described above clearly seems to support this notion. Suppressed emotions such as anger, fear and sadness that are not fully transformed will severely limit your ability to cope with the normal stresses of life. It is not so much the stress that kills us, but rather our impaired ability to cope with it. Emotional and spiritual transformations are probably the keys to resolving this. Fortunately, the technology now exists to rapidly and effectively transform these emotions. We do it every day in our office with EFT and other bioenergetic tools. You can use the free 25-page EFT report to help you learn how to apply EFT to immediately reduce your risk for heart disease. Please note though that if you are suffering from severe emotional stresses you will want to seek more professional assistance with EFT. Gary Craig has a list of EFT Practitioner Referrals from the United States and the world. Many of these therapists even offer a free 15-minute phone session in which you can ask them questions to see if you connect. Additionally, I offer in-depth instruction of the EFT technique in my EFT Series, available on DVD or VHS. This instruction can be used on its own or in addition to work with an EFT therapist. Related Articles: Stress Management May Help Heart Disease Patients Gauging Stress Management's Many Benefits