Chronic everyday stress and socioeconomic disadvantage trigger hidden structural changes in the heart and raise the risk of heart attacks and strokes by 43 percent, according to a study of nearly 480,000 adults led by researchers at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) and Imperial College London. Published using UK Biobank data, the research reveals that these cardiovascular alterations can develop quietly years before symptoms appear.
Inflammation as a Driver of Heart Damage
Low-level activation of the immune system acts as a primary biological pathway linking life stressors to cardiovascular disease. Researchers analyzed blood markers known as glycoprotein acetyls (GlycA), heart imaging, and genetic profiles.
Professor Declan O’Regan, British Heart Foundation Chair of Cardiovascular AI at Imperial College London and Head of the Computational Cardiac Imaging Group at the LMS, explained the scope of the findings. “Our study, which is the largest of its kind, suggests that millions of people could be living with hidden inflammation, which is slowly changing their heart and causing long term damage – increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke,” O’Regan stated.
Structural Changes in Heart Chambers
Participants with elevated inflammation displayed distinct physical alterations in cardiac imaging scans. These changes included thickened heart walls, smaller heart chambers, and poorer heart filling. According to the research team, these modifications progress silently over many years before potentially manifesting as heart failure.
The study found that chronic inflammation stems from a combination of socioeconomic factors, psychological distress, and established lifestyle risks such as smoking and excess body fat. However, genetic factors also play a role in determining how resilient or susceptible a person is to lifestyle-driven inflammatory damage.
Prevention and Future Treatments
While addressing wider societal health inequalities remains a major public health challenge, researchers emphasize that individuals can mitigate their risks. Reducing modifiable risk factors like smoking and obesity helps lower chronic inflammation levels, according to Professor O’Regan.
Several of these target proteins are already under evaluation in ongoing clinical trials for drug therapies, opening potential pathways for future preventative treatments.