Personality type, life events and sudden cerebrovascular attack.

The severity of cerebrovascular attack (CVA) in patients having no known history of cardiovascular problems tends to be influenced by two factors: (a) recent life events; and (b) "type A" personality. It was found that the higher the frequency of life events reported by the CVA patients, the more severe were the CVAs. The percentage of CVA patients having no known history of cardiovascular disorders who were of type A personality was much higher among the more severe CVA patients. The results of this study indicate the importance of these factors in precipitating CVA.