Impact of exercise training on psychological risk factors.

Although the role of psychological risk factors has been underemphasized, considerable evidence indicates the adverse effects of various psychosocial stressors in the pathogenesis and recovery from cardiovascular diseases. Substantial data, especially from cardiac rehabilitation and exercise training programs, have demonstrated the role of physical activity, exercise training, and cardiorespiratory fitness, to improve psychological risk factors, including depression, anxiety, hostility, and total psychological stress, as well as stress-related mortality.