Heart Scan Study

The Heart Scan Study was an investigation of the psychobiological processes through which variations in socioeconomic status and psychosocial adversity influence coronary heart disease risk. It is based on the hypothesis that lower social position and greater psychosocial adversity affect cardiovascular, inflammatory, metabolic and neuroendocrine responses to stress, and these in turn accelerate the progression of coronary atherosclerosis. Both the magnitude and duration of psychobiological stress responses maybe relevant.

The study was carried out with more than 600 volunteers from the Whitehall II cohort. The methods used were similar to those we employed for the Whitehall Psychobiology Study. Each person underwent a laboratory session in which biological responses to standardised challenges were assessed. They completed questionnaire measures of chronic life stress, social support, psychological state and other variables. Measures of coronary atherosclerosis were taken using electron beam computed tomography (EBCT) to assess coronary calcification.

This study was funded through a programme grant from the British Heart Foundation. Data collection for this study was completed in 2011 but analyses and publications continue to be produced.

Principal Investigator: Professor Andrew Steptoe 

Contact: Dr Lydia Poole (lydia.poole@ucl.ac.uk)

Collaborators: Dr Avijit Lahiri (Cardiac Imaging and Research Centre, Wellington Hospital)