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Acute Behavioral and Psychosocial Triggers of Myocardial Infarction

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Handbook of Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine

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Abstract

Of the numerous causes of myocardial infarction (MI), a salient group of triggers are acute and occur within 24 h of the onset of MI. After presenting the pathophysiology of MI, this chapter then provides an illustrative account of the literature that reports on the risk of MI attributable to these acute triggers. Behavioral triggers include physical activity, sexual activity, alcohol use, cigarette smoking, substance use, and sleep disturbances; psychological triggers are divided into environmental factors (natural disasters, sporting events, and war) and psychological triggers (acute emotional distress, bereavement, work stress, and anger). Finally, we examine methodological considerations in the interpretation of these results; asymptomatic, silent MI may not even be measured, and recall bias may make attributing a specific trigger to the MI difficult. To better understand this phenomenon, further research can provide new perspectives on how triggers are measured, such as gauging the intensity of the trigger.

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Acknowledgments

The opinions and assertions expressed herein are those of the authors and are not to be construed as reflecting the views of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences or the US Department of Defense. Preparation of this chapter was assisted by grants from the NIH (NHLBI) 1RO1 HL085730.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

    Andrew J. Wawrzyniak

  2. Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Nadine S. Bekkouche & David S. Krantz

Authors
  1. Andrew J. Wawrzyniak
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  2. Nadine S. Bekkouche
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  3. David S. Krantz
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Correspondence to Andrew J. Wawrzyniak .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Shari R. Waldstein

  2. Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Willem J. Kop

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Edward C. Suarez

  4. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA

    William R. Lovallo

  5. Division of Gerontology Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Leslie I. Katzel

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Wawrzyniak, A.J., Bekkouche, N.S., Krantz, D.S. (2022). Acute Behavioral and Psychosocial Triggers of Myocardial Infarction. In: Waldstein, S.R., Kop, W.J., Suarez, E.C., Lovallo, W.R., Katzel, L.I. (eds) Handbook of Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-85960-6_47

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