Is stressor‐evoked cardiovascular reactivity a pathway linking positive and negative emotionality to preclinical cardiovascular disease risk?

Abstract

Stressor‐evoked cardiovascular reactivity, trait positive emotionality, and negative emotionality are all associated with cardiovascular disease. It is unknown, however, whether cardiovascular reactivity may constitute a pathway by which trait positive or negative emotionality relates to disease risk. Accordingly, this study modeled the cross‐sectional relationships between trait positive and negative emotionality, stressor‐evoked cardiovascular reactivity, and severity of a subclinical vascular marker of cardiovascular risk, carotid artery intima‐media thickness (CA‐IMT). The sample consisted of healthy, midlife adults free from clinical cardiovascular disease (N = 286; ages 30–54; 50% female). Trait positive and negative emotionality were measured by three questionnaires. Heart rate and blood pressure reactivity were assessed across three stressor tasks. CA‐IMT was assessed by ultrasonography. Latent factors of positive and negative emotionality, blood pressure reactivity, heart rate reactivity, and CA‐IMT were created using structural equation modeling. Greater negative emotionality was marginally associated with more CA‐IMT (β = .21; p = .049), but lower blood pressure reactivity (β = −.19; p = .03). However, heightened blood pressure (β = .21; p = .03), but not heart rate reactivity (β = −.05; p = .75), associated with greater CA‐IMT. Positive emotionality was uncorrelated with cardiovascular reactivity (blood pressure: β = −.04; p = .61; heart rate: β = .16; p = .11) and CA‐IMT (β = .16; p = .07). Although trait negative emotionality associates with a known marker of cardiovascular disease risk, independent of positive emotionality, it is unlikely to occur via a stressor‐evoked cardiovascular reactivity pathway.

Integrating multiple brain imaging modalities does not boost prediction of subclinical atherosclerosis in midlife adults

“…1 D). Taken together, these results are in line with the literature and constitute a replication of effects shown previously ( DuPont et al, 2021 , Polak et al, 2010 , Riccio et al, 2006 ).…”

Integrating Multiple Imaging Modalities does not Boost Prediction of Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness in Midlife Adults

“…As expected the linear regression of the association between FRS and IMT confirms a positive association, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of r=0.3857, p<0.001. Taken together, these results are in line with the literature and constitute a replication of effects shown previously [28][29][30] .…”

“…Alignment of our work with prior literature is seen in a few different ways. Firstly, we replicate existing findings that demonstrate a substantial relationship between FRS and CA-IMT [28][29][30] . Secondly, our methodological approach replicates that of Liem et al, 2016 20 in a new sample, validating stacked learning as a useful tool for predicting individual differences from MRI-based measures.…”

Gratitude, social support and cardiovascular reactivity to acute psychological stress

“…An estimated 31% of all global deaths annually are due to cardiovascular diseases, with 17.5 million people dying from coronary heart disease (CHD) alone (WHO, 2016). One factor, although often overlooked (Brown et al, 2019), associated with the onset and development of CHD is psychological stress (Dimsdale, 2008;DuPont et al, 2020;Steptoe & Kivimäki, 2013;Turner et al, 2020). Stress has been defined as an interaction between an individual and their environment with stress occurring when people perceive that the demands from external situations are beyond their coping capacity (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984).…”