Women, Stress, and Heart Disease

by Orth-Gomér, Kristina; Chesney, Margaret A.; Wenger, Nanette K.; Orth-Gomer, Kristina

• ISBN13: 9780805821246
• ISBN10: 0805821244
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-03-01
• Publisher: Lawrence Erlbau

Summary

The issue of women's health has long been neglected. This applies to many medical areas, but it has become most evident in the field of cardiology. For a long time, cardiology has been a medical specialty which seemed to be created for men, by men--particularly in research, but also in intensive clinical care units where male patients have been most visible and dominating. Furthermore, the clinical cardiologists--their doctors--have been predominantly male. It is easy to understand that most women think they will die from cancer rather than from heart disease, but this is not true. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women as it is for men. Female patients are frequently encountered in the cardiology department, but they are older and seem to get less visibility and attention than the male patients. Research on risk factors for heart disease has also been almost entirely focused on men. This is true for psychosocial/behavioral aspects of cardiovascular risk. Aiming to fill this gap, this volume contains contributions from outstanding international and national researchers from different fields such as sociology, psychology, epidemiology, cardiology, clinical medicine, and physiology. These professionals gathered together for an interdisciplinary seminar on women, stress, and heart disease held at the Swedish Society of Medicine. Based on the seminar, this book provides a solid foundation for empirically based scientific conclusions on this important subject.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
1 Coronary Heart Disease in Women: Evolution of Our Knowledge	1	(18)
Nanette K. Wenger
PART I: CLINICAL FINDINGS AND RISK FACTORS FOR CORONARY HEART DISEASE	19	(22)
2 Less Prominent Electrocardiographic Changes During Myocardial Ischemia in Women May Explain Differences in Treatment as Compared to Men	19	(6)
Mikael Dellborg
3 Psychosocial Risk Factor Profile in Women With Coronary Heart Disease	25	(16)
Kristina Orth-Gomer
PART II: WORK, STRESS, AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN WOMEN	41	(70)
4 Work and Stress in Women	41	(16)
Ulf Lundberg
5 Trends in Women's Psychosocial Work Environment and Health, and Structural Changes on the Labor Market	57	(16)
Olle Lundberg
Lena Gonas
6 Women, Work, and Mortality: An Analysis of Female Labor Participation	73	(14)
Denny Vagero
Eero Lahelma
7 Men's Work, Women's Work? Occupational Sex Ratios and Health	87	(24)
Kate Hunt
Carol Emslie
PART III: MULTIPLE ROLES, SOCIAL SUPPORT, AND COPING IN WOMEN	111	(74)
8 Women's Roles and Health: A Life-Course Approach	111	(22)
Phyllis Moen
9 Well-Being Among Swedish Employed Mothers With Preschool Children	133	(18)
Ulla Bjornberg
10 Psychosocial Aspects of Women's Recovery From Heart Disease	151	(14)
Susan M. Czajkowski
11 Social Support and Heart Disease in Women: Implications for Intervention	165	(20)
Margaret Chesney
Lynae Darbes
PART IV: PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY OF CORONARY HEART DISEASE IN WOMEN	185	(80)
12 Reproductive Hormone Effects on the Cardiovascular System in Women	185	(20)
Karin Schenck-Gustafsson
Faris Al-Khalili
13 Social Stress, Reproductive Hormones, and Coronary Heart Disease Risk in Primates	205	(14)
Carol A. Shively
Sheree L. Watson
J. Koudy Williams
Michael R. Adams
14 Cardiovascular Reactivity to Mental Stress	219	(18)
Gerdi Weidner
Catherine R. Messina
15 Blood Pressure Response to Laboratory Challenges and Occupational Stress in Women	237	(28)
Kathleen C. Light
Susan S. Girdler
Sheila West
Kimberly A. Brownley
PART V: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS	265	(8)
16 Women, Stress, and Heart Disease: Concluding Remarks	265	(8)
Gosta Tibblin
Kristina Orth-Gomer
Author Index	273	(18)
Subject Index	291