Stress and Heart Disease: New Stress Score Test Predicts Heart Disease Risk Early

New cardiovascular reactivity risk score test can quickly identify high-risk patients under high stress and ensure they are diagnosed and treated immediately. The was led by senior authors Arshed Quyyumi, MD, Viola Vaccarino, MD, Ph.D., and lead author Kasra Moazzami, MD. Moazzami and a team of colleagues from Emory University published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Stress and Heart Health: How Your Body Reacts

The data of 629 individuals were collected from 2011 to 2016 for the study. The analysis focused on three key ways in which the participants responded to a stress test administered in the lab.

Stress tests are designed to create real-life stressful situations that people face daily. In this study, participants were asked to give a three-minute speech on a topic that made them uncomfortable to mimic the situation in the lab. These situations are like the mistreatment of a family member in a nursing home.

Changes in the heart activity and blood pressure in the participants were monitored. The lining inside the blood vessels responded and how much the patient’s blood vessels tightened was observed.

New Risk Score Predicts Heart Disease from Stress

The results from the overall tests showed how stress-related changes in blood flow and blood vessel function can be directly linked to heart disease. The goal of the study is to combine the three findings, changes in heart activity, blood pressure, and blood vessel function into a single score. "We wanted to see if the three key changes were connected, and more importantly, if bringing them together could improve our ability to predict risk."

Measuring these factors helps identify if someone is at a higher risk for future cardiovascular events. The study found that stress response increased the participants' cardiovascular risk. The study results are significant as they measured the physical changes in the body to stress effects. Previous studies measured stress based on how people describe their feelings.

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The study suggests further research on how the new risk score test can improve patient care. If these tests are practiced in clinics, doctors can understand stress-related health risks and personalize treatments for patients with heart disease risk.

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Source-Medindia