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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2022 Jul 1.
Published in final edited form as: Atherosclerosis. 2021 May 30;328:74–82. doi: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2021.05.020

Figure 1. A schematic illustration of the main pathways linking psychological stress with cardiovascular risk.

Figure 1.

A chronic background of stress acts together and interacts with acute episodes of stress in everyday life to influence regulatory centers in the brain that control emotional responses, neuroendocrine stress systems and the autonomic nervous system. These, in turn, influence a number of risk pathways for cardiovascular disease that are responsive to stress. These processes are modulated by traditional risk factors, behaviors and genetic background, as well as by concurrent social and environmental exposures and mental health conditions.

Abbreviations: SNS: sympathetic nervous system; PNS: parasympathetic nervous system; HR: heart rate; BP: blood pressure; PTSD: posttraumatic stress disorder.