TOPLINE:

Women who experienced stalking faced a significantly elevated risk for incident cardiovascular disease. While obtaining a restraining order can sometimes limit violence, even the issuance of such rulings — reflecting a history and severity of abuse — may have long-term consequences for cardiovascular health.

METHODOLOGY:

Researchers analyzed data from more than 66,000 female nurses in the United States (mean age at the start of follow-up, 46.3 years) who reported whether they had ever been stalked or obtained a restraining order.

Incident cardiovascular disease, defined as self-reported fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction or stroke, was tracked over a median follow-up of 19.9 years.

In a secondary analysis, medical records were reviewed to confirm or corroborate self-repo

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