Childhood trauma may leave its mark in blood vessels

By Shereen Jegtvig NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Young adults who were exposed to adverse experiences as children have greater signs of unhealthy blood vessel function than young people without a traumatic past, a new study finds. The results suggest that early-life stress may raise the risk of heart disease later on by affecting blood vessel function and blood pressure in ways that can be detected during young adulthood, the authors say. “We have translated ideas that we had from animal research and found that it’s true in humans,” Jennifer Pollock told Reuters Health. She and her colleagues looked for elevations in blood pressure and other indicators of how well blood vessels constrict or relax, as well as signs of stiffness in blood vessel walls.