The Type A Behavior Pattern and Carotid Artery Atherosclerosis

The Type A behavior pattern has been identified as an important precursor of coronary atherosclerosis. However, atherosclerosis is a disease process that occurs throughout the arterial system. The present research examined the hypothesis that the Type A pattern may also be related to disease in other arteries such as the carotid arteries. Men (n = 21) and women (n = 23) from 40 to 65 years of age were examined for carotid artery atherosclerosis using doppler ultrasonography. Subjects also completed the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS) to measure the Type A pattern. The results indicated that the diseased individuals were more likely to be classified as Type A (71%) than as Type B (29%), Z = 2.08, p less than 0.05. The nondiseased individuals were not more likely to be Type A (53%) than Type B (47%). The results are consistent with the hypothesis that atherosclerosis in Type A individuals is not limited to the coronary arteries but the disease is likely to occur throughout the arterial system.