Abstract

RODRIGUES, Andreia; GUERRA, Marina  and  MACIEL, Maria Júlia. Impact of stress and hostility in coronary heart disease. Rev. SBPH [online]. 2010, vol.13, n.1, pp. 107-135. ISSN 1516-0858.

The main objective of this study was to investigate some psychological variables associated with coronary disease, such as stress, life events, social support and hostility. This research was undertaken at the cardiologic intermediate care unit of “Hospital de S. João” in the city of Porto, Portugal. The above mentioned variables were assessed and compared between a group of 30 male patients who had suffered a myocardial infarction and a healthy group of 30 men. The results revealed that there were no significant statistical differences between the two groups in relation to the studied variables with a single exception for the perception of stress. The logistic binary regression analysis performed in this study allowed us to conclude that stress is the only predictor of coronary heart disease. We also observed that stress is associated with hostile character and high cholesterol levels. We were also able to conclude that risk factors such as diabetes mellitus and alcohol consumption are moderately associated with the occurrence of life events and hostile male character.

Keywords : Cardiovascular disease; Stress; Life events; Social support; Hostility.

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