B-Type Natriuretic Peptide Reactivity to Mental Stress and Exercise: Role of Obesity and Hemodynamics

摘要

The prevalence of heart failure in the United States is estimated at 5.2 million individuals, and although survival has increased, the incidence of heart failure remains steady. Obesity is an important risk factor for the development of heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases and evidence suggests that obese individuals respond to stressors differently from lean individuals. Psychosocial factors, including stress, are related to decompensation in heart failure and to increased incidence of cardiovascular events. However, it remains unclear how the variables of obesity and stress interact to affect cardiovascular disease risk and the mechanisms involved.