[Stress as cardiovascular risk factor]. / Stress als kardiovaskulärer Risikofaktor.

With appropriate assessment, stress has been shown to be an important variable for the development and course of cardiovascular diseases. Elements of stress include life events, inadequate coping strategies, deficient social support and a combination of heavy demands/ low rewards at work as well as in other situations. Dealing with stress therefore is important in cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention, as well as in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. The issue was discussed controversially at a workshop at the Annual meeting of the Swiss Society of Cardiology in 1996. The opposing views are presented.