Matters of the Heart: Advancing Psychological Perspectives on Cardiovascular Diseases

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the major cause of death in men and women in the United States. Type A behavior research was a starting point for psychological science's understanding of the development of CVD. Health psychology science has broadened its scope to consider other psychological constructs as potential risk factors, multilevel models and a life span approach, and new mechanistic pathways that could apply to a number of disease outcomes other than CVD.