TUESDAY, April 24 (HealthDay News) -- Heart blood flow increases
in men when they experience mental stress, but does not change in
women, a small new study suggests.
The finding may explain why women are more likely than men to
have heart trouble when they suffer emotional distress, the Penn
State College of Medicine researchers said.
The investigators measured heart rate, blood pressure and heart
blood flow in 17 healthy adults -- a near-equal mix of men and
women -- at rest and while they did three minutes of mental
arithmetic. In order to increase the stress of doing the math task,
the researchers urged the participants to hurry up or informed them
they were wrong even when they gave the right answer.
At rest, men and women showed little difference in heart rate,
blood pressure and heart blood flow. During the math task, all the
participants had increases in heart rate and blood pressure. Heart
blood flow also increased in men during the stressful task, but did
not change in women.
The study was slated for Tuesday presentation at the
Experimental Biology meeting, in San Diego.
The findings suggest that women may be more susceptible to heart
problems while under stress and could explain why women tend to
have more heart troubles after stressful events, such as losing a
spouse, study leader Chester Ray said.
The results also underscore how mental stress can affect
health.
"Stress reduction is important for anyone, regardless of gender, but this study shines a light on how stress differently affects the hearts of women, potentially putting them at greater risk of a coronary event," Ray said in an American Physiological Society news release.
He added that further research on the mechanism behind this
difference between women and men could someday lead to more
targeted treatments and prevention efforts for women at risk of
coronary artery disease.
Because this study was presented at a medical meeting, the data
and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in
a peer-reviewed journal.
More information
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of
Women's Health has more about
stress and health.