Atherosclerosis? A disease of the brain

The relation of mind, brain and body was known to Indians for the last 5000 years, as mentioned in the ancient scripture - Bhagwatgita (3000 BCE). There has been a marked increase in industrialization and urbanization in the last 100 years, with changes in diet and lifestyle factors and an increase in psychosocial stress resulting in an increase in the incidence of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes [1-3]. Further evidence indicates that a majority of individuals in developed and developing countries experience psychosocial stress on a daily basis as a result of urbanization and industrialization [2-4]. Heavy workloads, job insecurity, living in relative poverty, and competition in business have been associated with increases in mental stress, which in turn can lead to chronic anxiety disorders such as depression [2-4]. Apart from increases in psychological burden, chronic stress may also be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), atherosclerosis, hypertension, and heart failure, and of diabetes [1-4]. Those subjects with increased stress perception have a substantially higher prevalence of myocardial infarction than controls, as was reported by a group of investigators in the INTERHEART Study [3, 4]. A recent study reported for the first time that subjects with heightened metabolic activity in the amygdala (an area of the brain linked to emotional stress) was associated with a greater risk of heart disease and stroke [5]. This View Point examines the available evidence on the relation of psychosocial stress with functional neuroanatomy of the brain and risk of CVDs. © 2017 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.