Chronic stress has long been linked to heart disease, but it is less clear how everyday stress and the body’s hormone responses contribute. In this study, Robin Lengton and colleagues examined whether daily hassles — the small, routine stressors we all face — and the body’s sensitivity to stress hormones are associated with cardiovascular disease.

We studied 870 adults from the Netherlands without recent psychiatric disorders. Participants reported their daily stress levels, and we tested how sensitive each person’s stress system was by giving a tiny dose of a hormone that usually signals the body to slow down production of cortisol, the main stress hormone.

Results
Our results show that both higher daily stress and a more sensitive stress system were independently linked to heart disease, meaning each factor raised risk on its own. The two did not interact, suggesting that everyday stress and biological sensitivity affect heart health through separate pathways.

These findings highlight that heart disease risk is influenced not only by lifestyle factors but also by the stress we encounter every day and how our bodies respond. Understanding these separate pathways could help identify people most vulnerable to stress-related heart problems and inform strategies for prevention and treatment.

Conclusion
This study shows that both daily life stress and the body’s sensitivity to stress hormones independently increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Understanding these separate pathways highlights the importance of managing stress and hormonal responses, and may help guide strategies to prevent or reduce stress-related heart problems.