Young women with stable coronary heart disease were found to be more likely to have reduced blood flow to the heart if they were under emotional rather than physical stress, and their risk was much higher when compared to men.
Women tend to develop heart disease later in life than men, but younger women who suffer heart attacks are more likely to die, a press release reported.
Women under the age of 55 were found to have a three times greater reduction of blood flow to the heart when subjected to stress than men of the same age. Women between the ages of 56 and 64 were found to have double the reduced blood flow and those over the age of 65 had the same rate of reduced blood flow when exposed to stress as men.
"Women who develop heart disease at a younger age make up a special high-risk group because they are disproportionally vulnerable to emotional stress," said Viola Vaccarino, M.D., Ph.D., study author and chairwoman of Cardiovascular Research and Epidemiology at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta, Georgia.
To make their findings researchers gave 534 participants with stable coronary heat disease a mental stress test and a physical stress test on a separate day. The team took nuclear images of the patients' hearts both before and during the stress tests. They also monitored the different rates of blood flow in individuals of different ages and genders.
The researchers suggest young and middle-age women may be more vulnerable to emotional stress because they are more likely to experience more frequent stressors throughout their lives. They are also mrs likely to experience a constriction of blood vessels during times of stress.
"Ask the questions about psychological stress that often don't get asked," Vaccarino said. "If they note that their patient is under psychological stress or is depressed, they should advise the woman to get relevant help or support from mental health providers, stress reduction programs or other means."
The findings were presented at American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2014.
