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From the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, UK.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Andrew Steptoe, DPhil, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, 1–19 Torrington Place, London WC1E 6BT, UK. E-mail: a.steptoe{at}ucl.ac.uk
Objective: The objective of this study was to review the evidence that behavioral and emotional factors are triggers of acute coronary syndromes.
Method: Systematic review of the published literature from 1970 to 2004 of trigger events, defined as stimuli or activities occurring within 24 hours of the onset of acute coronary syndromes.
Results: There is consistent evidence that physical exertion (particularly by people who are not normally active), emotional stress, anger, and extreme excitement can trigger acute myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death in susceptible individuals. Many triggers operate within 1 to 2 hours of symptom onset. There are methodologic limitations to the current literature, including sampling, retrospective reporting, and presentation biases, the role of memory decay and salience, and reverse causation because of silent prodromal events.
Conclusions: Behavioral and emotional factors are probable triggers of acute coronary syndromes in vulnerable individuals, and the pathophysiological processes elicited by these stimuli are being increasingly understood. The benefits to patients of knowledge to these processes have yet to accrue.
Key Words: acute coronary syndromes • myocardial infarction • sudden death • stress • triggers • physical exertion
Abbreviations: ACS = acute coronary syndromes; CHD = coronary heart disease; EKG = electrocardiogram; IL-6 = interleukin 6; MI = myocardial infarction; PAI-1 = plasminogen activator inhibitor-1; SCD = sudden cardiac death.
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