Does stress cause heart disease?

Chronic stress contributes through blood pressure, inflammation, poor sleep, and behaviours like smoking and overeating. Acute severe stress can trigger events, including takotsubo ("broken heart") cardiomyopathy. It's a genuine but not standalone risk factor.

Acute severe emotional stress can trigger events in people with existing disease, and can cause takotsubo cardiomyopathy, which mimics a heart attack with normal arteries.

Chronic stress acts largely through pathways you can address — blood pressure, sleep, smoking, alcohol and eating patterns.