ABSTRACT
**Objective:** Stressor-evoked cardiovascular reactivity, trait positive emotionality, and negative emotionality are all associated with cardiovascular disease. It is unknown, however, whether cardiovascular reactivity may constitute a pathway by which trait positive or negative emotionality relates to disease risk. Accordingly, this study modeled the cross-sectional relationships between trait positive and negative emotionality, stressor-evoked cardiovascular reactivity, and severity of a subclinical vascular marker of cardiovascular risk, carotid artery intima-media thickness (CA-IMT).
**Methods:** The sample consisted of healthy, midlife adults free from clinical cardiovascular disease (N = 286; ages 30-54; 50% female). Trait positive and negative emotionality were measured by three self-reported questionnaires. Heart rate and blood pressure reactivity were assessed across three stressor tasks. CA-IMT was assessed by ultrasonography. Latent factors of positive and negative emotionality, blood pressure reactivity, heart rate reactivity, and CA-IMT were created using structural equation modeling.
**Results:** Greater negative emotionality was marginally associated with more CA-IMT (β = 0.21; p = 0.049), but reduced blood pressure reactivity (β = -0.19; p = 0.03). However, heightened blood pressure (β = 0.21; p = 0.03), but not heart rate reactivity (β = -0.05; p = 0.75), associated with greater CA-IMT. Positive emotionality was uncorrelated with cardiovascular reactivity (blood pressure: β = -0.04; p = 0.61; heart rate: β = 0.16; p = 0.11) and CA-IMT (β = 0.16; p = 0.07).
**Conclusions:** Although trait negative emotionality associates with a known marker of cardiovascular disease risk, independent of positive emotionality, it is unlikely via a stressor-evoked cardiovascular reactivity pathway.