Stalking raises the risk of heart disease for women and should be added to risk factors alongside smoking and bad diet, scientists have warned.

Harvard University discovered that women who were stalked were 41 per cent more likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease, which can cause heart attacks and strokes.

For those forced to obtain a restraining order, the risk rose to 70 per cent.

One in five women and one in 11 men have been a victim of stalking, according to data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales.

Although stalking is known to cause fear and trigger mental health problems, the new study is the first to show it has an impact on heart health.

“To many people, stalking doesn’t seem to be such a serious experience, as it often does not involve physical contact. But stalking has profound psychological consequences that can have physical implications,” said senior author Dr Karestan Koenen, professor of psychiatric epidemiology at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.

“Our study highlights that these preventable, common, non-contact forms of violence against women are health hazards and need to be considered as such, just like we consider smoking or poor diet.”

Stalking is defined as linked incidents causing distress, fear or alarm, which can involve obscene, threatening unwanted letters, text messages or phone calls, being watched or followed or having people loiter near to the home or workplace. The crime survey estimated there were more than 129,000 stalking offences last year.

For the new study researchers looked at the cardiovascular outcomes for 66,270 women, aged between 36 and 56 who were enroled in the Nurses’ Health Study II between 2001 and 2021.

Around 12 per cent reported that they had been stalked while just over five per cent said they had obtained a restraining order.

Researchers found a clear link between cardiovascular disease and stalking.

Women whose medical records confirmed heart attacks or strokes were more likely to have reported being stalked or obtaining a restraining order.

Experts believe stalking may cause psychological distress, which can disrupt the nervous system, impair proper blood vessel function, and negatively affect other biological mechanisms.

Many stressful life experiences are known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, such as the loss of a loved one or bankruptcy, but it is the first research to link it to stalking.

Dr Rebecca Lawn, a research associate in epidemiology at Harvard, said: “Stalking is often seen as a form of violence that does not involve physical contact, which may make it seem less serious.

“However, our findings suggest stalking should not be minimised. Stalking can be chronic, and women often report making significant changes in response such as moving.

“Perhaps because it is our nature to re-think about things that happen to us, making us experience the situation over and over.”

Dr Harmony Reynolds, former chair of American Heart Association’s Clinical Cardiology & Stroke Women’s Health Science Committee, added: “While this study shows a more moderate risk, given the long-time frame, it highlights how feeling unsafe can affect the body, in addition to the mind.”

The research was published in the journal Circulation.

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