Psychosocial stress influences the development and progression of atherosclerosis.
Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that the TM program would be beneficial for the regression of carotid atherosclerosis in a high CHD risk population of inner city African Americans. IMT is a valid surrogate measure for coronary atherosclerosis and is a predictor of coronary outcomes and stroke. Mean maximum IMT from six carotid segments was used to determine pre and posttest IMT scores. Age and pretest IMT were found predictors of posttest IMT values and used as covariates. Stress reduction with the TM program is associated with reduced carotid atherosclerosis compared to health education in hypertensive African Americans.