“Because stalking is often perceived as a form of violence that does not involve physical contact, it may seem less serious, but our findings suggest these experiences can have long-term health impacts and should not be minimized,” says coauthor Audrey R. Murchland, PhD, an epidemiology associate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.
“Our study adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that violence against women, including stalking, may contribute to women’s long-term cardiovascular risk,” she says.
1 in 3 Women Have Experienced Stalking
- Being followed or watched
- Having someone show up at places like work or home
- Being spied on
- Receiving unwanted communications and gifts
Although most stalking victims are adults, about 24 percent of women are stalked as minors.
Restraining orders are legal tools meant to help keep victims safe by limiting contact with someone who has hurt or threatened them.
Traumatic Experiences Can Increase Heart Disease Risk
“Although violence against women is common and has been previously linked to women’s future cardiovascular health, it is not widely recognized by medical providers as a potential cardiovascular risk factor,” says Dr. Murchland.
Being Stalked Increased Heart Disease Risk by 41 Percent
Murchland and her team analyzed data from more than 66,000 women in the Nurses’ Health Study 2, who were between 36 and 56 years old and didn’t have heart disease at the start of the study in 2001.
The women were asked if they’d experienced stalking or had taken out a restraining order, and then investigators tracked heart attacks and strokes over the next 20 years via medical records.
Key findings included:
- Nearly 12 percent of the women studied reported being stalked, and about 6 percent had obtained a restraining order.
- Compared with women who hadn’t been stalked, those who had were 41 percent more likely to develop heart disease, including heart attack and stroke.
- Among women who had obtained a restraining order, the risk rose to 70 percent.
- The elevated risks were found even when controlling for health behaviors, medications, preexisting conditions, childhood abuse, and depressive symptoms.
“While other studies have shown higher rates of heart disease in domestic abuse survivors even when traditional risk factors are accounted for, these findings suggest that stalking may also be a source of chronic stress and trauma and contribute to cardiovascular disease,” says Allison Zielinski, MD, a cardiologist at the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute of Northwestern in Chicago, who wasn’t involved in the study.
Why Stalking and Other Forms of Trauma Impact Health
“Chronic activation of the stress system may cause wear and tear on our cardiovascular and metabolic systems, which make us more susceptible to disease, such as heart disease,” says Kim Smolderen, PhD, a professor of medicine and co-director of the vascular medicine outcomes program at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, who wasn’t involved in the study.
Stalking may also affect lifestyle behaviors, including sleep, appetite, and the desire to stay active, she says.
“These chronic activations may also cause spikes in our bodily reactions when faced with acute stress, creating more adverse effects for our systems,” Dr. Smolderen says. “Downstream effects may impact insulin resistance, inflammation, hypertension, and our vascular health to name a few, which can all together heighten our risk of cardiovascular disease, along with less healthy lifestyle behaviors that tend to go along with a system under continuous stress.”
Seek Help and Tell Your Doctor if You’ve Been Stalked
If you’re currently being stalked, prioritize your health and safety, and seek help right away by contacting the National Domestic Violence Hotline, says Dr. Zielinski.
If you’ve been stalked at any point in your life, let your doctor know, as it may affect other dimensions of health, she says.
Some medical providers may not be aware of how mind and body interact in the face of chronic disease, says Smolderen. “Having a medical specialist attune to this framework of risk when evaluating you as part of your history is key, as is access to support resources that can provide continuity of evaluation and therapy (when necessary). The other challenge that people who have faced trauma or abuse may experience is guilt or shame,” she says.
Evidence-Based Therapies Can Help
Smolderen recommends being kind to yourself and being aware that the experience of being stalked doesn’t have to define you. “It is hard to understand what the motivations of perpetrators are. Refocusing the awareness back on yourself and healing from these experiences are key,” she says.
There are evidence-based therapies available to help you process your experience and the negative thoughts that come up, says Smolderen.
“Having a good social support system, including not being afraid to ask for help, and investing in self-care, are all potential ways to buffer chronic distress experiences,” she says.