Mental stress ‘affects heart health differently in men and women’

Researchers in the US have broadened the understanding of men's and women's varying cardiovascular and psychological reactions to mental stress.

The study looked at 56 women and 254 men diagnosed with heart disease, each of whom carried out three mentally stressful tasks followed by a treadmill exercise task. Echocardiography, blood samples, blood pressure and heart rate measurements were then examined.

While men experienced more changes in blood pressure and heart rate in response to the mental stress, more women were affected by myocardial ischaemia and increased platelet aggregation, which can lead to blood clots.

Moreover, women also expressed a greater increase in negative emotions and a greater decrease in positive emotions during the mental stress tests.

Study lead author Dr Zainab Samad, assistant professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center, said: "At this point, further studies are needed to test the association of sex differences in the heart's responses to mental stress and long term outcomes."

Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in both the UK and worldwide, causing mortality in around one in five men and one-eighth of women.