Psychosocial Stress And Cardiovascular Disease In Women

Not long ago, it was assumed that coronary heart disease mainly--or only--affected men. Now that CHD is recognized as a leading killer of women as well as men, numerous research studies have been made of its diverse presentations in women, causal factors, and possibilities for prevention and treatment. The expert contributions to Psychosocial Stress and Cardiovascular Disease in Women span the results of this cross-disciplinary awareness. This progressive resource takes a three-dimensional approach to its subject, focusing on epidemiology and risk factors for heart disease in women, the psycho- and neurobiology of stress and coronary disease, and promising clinical interventions. Chapters identify and analyze multiple intersections of social, biological, and psychological factors in affecting women's heart health, from the social dimensions of depression to genetic/environmental interactions to the demands of balancing work and family. These wide-ranging findings will assist and motivate professionals in choosing and creating interventions, developing appropriate prevention strategies, and reducing gender-based disparities in health care. Among the topics covered: Enhancing women's heart health: a global perspective. Coronary heart disease in women: evolution of our knowledge. Gender observations on basic physiological stress mechanisms in men and women. Sleep as a means of recovery and restitution in women. LifeSkills training: benefiting both genders, for different reasons. Gender considerations in psychosocial-behavioral interventions for coronary heart disease. In particular this book will be helpful for cardiologists and other clinicians who may ask themselves why patients do not seem to make rational choices. "Why do patients not follow the advice they are offered?" is a common complaint. The role of psychosocial stress for patient compliance and adherence can be traced throughout the volume. It is emphasized in the chapters on psychosocial interventions along with other tangible and conceptual suggestions and experiences with psychosocial stress and life style change. Psychosocial Stress and Cardiovascular Disease in Women offers a deep practical level of understanding of this epidemic to help expand the work of health and clinical psychologists, sociologists, cardiologists, primary care physicians, and epidemiologists.

This volume explores women's risk factors for cardiovascular disease, as well as how social and physical strains contribute to the risk. For health professionals, behavioral scientists, and social psychologists alike.

The main aim of this book is to evaluate the concept of stress and provide tools for physicians to identify patients who might benefit from stress management. This will incorporate a detailed description of the physiological and pathophysiological consequences of acute and chronic stress that might lead to cardiovascular disease. The book will aim to critically evaluate interventional research (behavioural and other therapies) and provide evidence based recommendations on how to manage stress in the cardiovascular patient. Our intentions are to define and highlight stress as an etiological factor for cardiovascular disease, and to describe an evidence based "tool box" that physicians may use to identify and manage patients in whom stress may be an important contributing factor for their disease and their risk of suffering cardiovascular complications.

This volume contains contributions presented at the Fourth Internatio nal Workshop on Psychosocial Stress and Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) held in Hoehenried near Munich in July, 1979. The workshop was organized in order to continue and enlarge upon recent discussions concerning empirical evidence and convergence in the field of stress and CHD. Proceedings of the three previous workshops were published in German by Springer-Verlag. The main topic of the 1978 conference was the present state of research in the field of type A behavior and CHD. In addition and in a certain contrast, this present volume concentrates on sociological aspects of stress experience and the development of CHD, especially myocardial infarction. It is thought that a heuristic research device should take into account both situational influences and individual predispositions on a somatic and psychological level. The scope of this book is limited by the research areas represented by the invited participants, and the editors do not claim to give a representative overview, although they include several prominent authorities among the contributors. The final chapter gives a short critical evaluation of the present state of a difficult but promising area of interdisciplinary medical research. For technical reasons discussions held at the workshop could not be included in this volume.

Annotation This book addresses one major question: Why do men get more heart disease than women? Recent global trends in heart disease show that traditional coronary risk factors, such as elevated blood pressure and cholesterol are poor candidates in explaining the gender gap in heart disease. Changes in these risk factors also cannot explain the recent cardiovascular disease epidemic among middle-aged men in Eastern Europe. This book will focus on environmental, behavioral, and psychosocial variables, as well as new risk factors of a biological nature in an attempt to understand the gender gap in heart disease. It combines perspectives from numerous disciplines, such as demography, epidemiology, medicine, sociology, and psychology. This book features the work of a distinguished group of international researchers appearing in Richard Stone's report on "Stress: the invisible hand in Eastern Europe's death rates" (Science, vol. 288, June 9, 2000, pp. 1732-33). It combines perspectives from numerous disciplines, such as demography, epidemiology, medicine, nutrition, sociology, and psychology to explore the environmental, behavioral, and psychosocial influences on men's greater susceptibility to heart disease

I. Sex Differences: Facts and Myths.- 1. Gender Segregation in the Workplace: Continuities and Discontinuities from Childhood to Adulthood.- The Prevalence of Gender Segregation in Childhood.- Causal Factors Underlying Gender Segregation.- Distinctive Cultures in Boys' and Girls' Groups.- Group Membership and In-Group Loyalties.- Adolescence and Cross-Sex Attraction.- References.- 2. Effects of Labor Force Participation on Sex Differences in Mortality and Morbidity.- Sex Differences in Mortality and Morbidity.- Contributions of Occupational Hazards to Sex Differences in Health.- Health-Related Behavior: A Possible Link between Labor Force Participation and Sex Differences in Health.- Effects of Labor Force Participation on Women's and Men's Health.- Labor Force Participation Rates and Sex Differences in Mortality Rates: Ecological Analyses.- Conclusions.- References.- 3. The Psychophysiology of Sex Differences as Related to Occupational Status.- A Biopsychosocial Framework.- Changing Patterns of Sex Differences in Reactivity.- Stress On and Off the Job in White-Collar Workers at Volvo.- Reactivity and "Unwinding".- Concluding Remarks.- References.- II. Work and Family: Multiple Roles.- 4. The Forms of Women's Work.- The Forms of Work.- Patterns of Productive Behavior in the United States.- Causes and Consequences of Productive Work.- Implications for Policy.- References.- 5. Coping with Role Overload.- Theoretical Basis for the Proposed Work.- Overview of Research Program.- Study 1: Role Strain and Conflict in Married Women Professionals with Young Children.- Findings of the Study.- Sex Differences in Combining Work and Family: Preliminary Analyses of Data from the Physician Study.- Future Research Directions.- References.- 6. The Relationship between Women's Work and Family Roles and Their Subjective Well-Being and Psychological Distress.- Overview.- The Study.- I. Which Aspects of Work Are Related to Mental-Health Measures?.- II. Does Family-Role Occupancy Affect the Relationship between the Mental-Health Measures and the Work-Reward and Work-Concern Factors?.- III. Does Family-Role Quality Affect the Relationship between Mental-Health Measures and Work-Reward and Work-Concern Factors?.- Discussion and Conclusions.- References.- III. Work Load and Cardiovascular Health.- 7. Women, Work-Related Stress, and Smoking.- Prevalence of Cigarette Smoking among Women.- Health Consequences of Smoking.- Smoking and Work.- The Women and Health Study.- Stress and Smoking.- Smoking and Affect Regulation.- A Model of Stress, Distress, and Smoking.- Implications for Smoking Cessation Programs.- References.- 8. The Effect of Job Demands, Job Control, and New Technologies on the Health of Employed Women: A Review.- Empirical Support for the Job Strain Model in Women.- Health Effects of Clerical Employment.- Health Effects of VDT Work.- Health Effects of Nursing Occupations.- Future Research.- References.- 9. Occupational Stress and Blood Pressure: Studies in Working Men and Women.- Use of Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring to Study Psychosocial Influences on Blood Pressure.- Use of Echocardiography for Studying the Influence of Psychological Factors on the Heart.- The Role of Occupational Stress in Raising Blood Pressure.- Are There Gender Differences in the Associations between Stress and Blood Pressure?.- Conclusions.- References.- 10. On Cardiovascular Health in Women: Results from Epidemiological and Psychosocial Studies in Sweden.- International Trends in Coronary Heart Disease Mortality for Men and Women.- Job Characteristics of Different Occupations: Associations on an Aggregated Level.- Comparison of Risk Factors between Men and Women in the Same Occupations.- Personality Characteristics and Coronary Heart Disease in Women.- References.- IV. Interaction Between Women's Work and Reproductive Issues.- 11. Reproductive Technologies, Women's Health, and Career Choices.- Control of Fertility.- Contraceptive Practice.- Infertility.- Co...

The latest volume in the series based on the Annual Stress and Coping Symposia held at the University of Miami, Drs. McCabe, Schneiderman, Field, and Wellens bring together an outstanding group of researchers to examine the relationship between bio-behavioral and social factors and heart disease. Highlights of the book include an in-depth look at the latest research on: * basic physiological processes in cardiovascular reactivity to stress; * pathophysiological mechanisms in cardiovascular disease; * ethnic differences in cardiovascular regulation; * psychosocial influences on cardiovascular function/disease; and * Behavioral interventions designed to treat cardiovascular disorders. The goal of Stress, Coping, and Cardiovascular Disease is to provide a solid empirical foundation on the relationship between stress and cardiovascular disease so as to stimulate further research into the pathophysiology and treatment of the leading cause of death in industrialized countries.