ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the survey of two important cardiovascular disorders from the psycho physiological perspective-essential hypertension and coronary heart disease. Essential hypertension is usually asymptomatic or silent, with no significant discomfort, especially in its earliest stages. Hypertension subjects blood vessels to sustained heightened pressure, causing them to break down, which results in damage to vital organs. The two French physicians, Ambard and Beaujard, proposed that hypertension is caused by excessive sodium in the form of sodium chloride in the diet. The first clear evidence that stress contributes to coronary heart disease, independently of the traditional risk factors, was provided in a study of social stress in monkeys. As a consequence, hypertension is one of the most powerful known risk factors in the development of atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, kidney failure, stroke, and heart attacks, the latter alone accounting for over half of the deaths that can be traced back to hypertension.
