Is Psychosocial Stress Associated With an Increased Risk for Acute Stroke or Coronary Heart Disease?

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1. You are a member of the healthcare team seeing a 61-year-old man who complains of high levels of stress and wonders how stress might affect his risk for cardiovascular disease. On the basis of the previous meta-analysis by Richardson and colleagues, what can you tell him?
   Stress increased the risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) 4-fold
   Stress was associated with a higher risk for nonfatal, but not fatal, CHD
   Stress had no effect on the risk for CHD among older adults
   Adjusting for mood did not alter the association between stress and CHD
2. What can you tell this patient regarding stress and the risk for stroke in the current study by Reddin and colleagues?
   Stress at home and work were associated with higher risks for both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke
   Only stress at work was associated with a higher risk for stroke
   Stressful life events were not associated with a higher risk for stroke
   Higher locus of control at work only was associated with a lower risk for stroke