The role of psychological distress and coping strategies on the etiology and prognosis of a cardiac disease

The World Health Organization states that cardiac diseases are the major cause of death worldwide. Evidence suggests that several psychosocial factors, including psychological distress and maladaptive coping strategies, may influence etiology and prognosis of cardiac diseases. Prolonged psychological distress may result in physiological dysregulations that, in turn, can promote the onset of a cardiac disease or negatively influence its prognosis. Moreover, psychological distress may lead to maladaptive behavioral coping responses (e.g. smoking, alcohol drinking, not adherence to medical treatments, etc.), which can indirectly be linked to the onset or worse prognosis of a cardiac disease. The importance to take into account these psychosocial factors in order to prevent their onset and improve the effectiveness of cardiologic rehabilitation programs will be discussed.