Greater lifetime exposure to the stress of traumatic events is linked to higher levels of inflammatory markers in a study of about 1000 patients with heart disease. Heart disease patients with higher levels of inflammation tended to have worse outcomes. Traumatic stress can have a longterm negative effect even if PTSD is not apparent. People with a history of multiple traumatic stress exposures had increased inflammatory responses more often and for longer periods.
Treatment should center around relaxation through yoga, meditation, psychotherapy, and somatic psychotherapy.
