Psychology and coronary health: History of an emotional evolution

The implication of psychological (emotional processes) factors in suffering from coronary heart diseases is revisited in the present study. Researches dealing with traditional studies of Type A Behavior Pattern (TABP) supported the association between this construct and coronary heart diseases. Nevertheless, Hostility has been considered as the new pattern of incidence of coronary heart disease, due to the problems related to the definition and reach of TABP. Both, the attempts of improving the theories concerning with this concept, and the findings of some inconsistent scores, have led to the readjustment of the concept of Hostility as a wide multidimensional construct in which not only affective/ emotional components (Anger), but also cognitive (Hostility), and behavioral (aggression) elements are ranged. Current studies emphasize the relevance of psychophysiological reactivity, and particularly the "fast activation-slow recovery" profile, as the appropriate parameter for investigating the way in which emotional processes affect coronary health.