State, but not trait gratitude is associated with cardiovascular responses to acute psychological stress

•The pathways underling the gratitude-cardiovascular health link are not well understood.•State but not trait gratitude was associated with cardiovascular stress reactivity.•Feeling grateful was associated with lower systolic blood pressure reactivity.•Results suggest that gratitude has stress buffering effects. Recent research suggests that gratitude is associated with better cardiovascular health. Here, we investigated whether trait and/or state gratitude was associated with cardiovascular responses to acute stress. Eighty-six young adults completed measures of gratitude and had their cardiovascular responses monitored throughout a standardized stress testing protocol. Trait gratitude was not associated with cardiovascular reactivity, i.e. systolic or diastolic (SBP, DBP) or heart rate (HR). However, while state gratitude was not associated with HR or DBP reactivity, it was negatively associated with SBP reactivity, such that those who reported higher state gratitude during the past week displayed lower SBP to the stressor. Moreover, this association was robust to withstand adjustment for several potential founds, such as sex, depression and body mass index. These findings are novel and highlight that gratitude, in particular state gratitude, is one potential mechanism underlying the protective benefits of gratitude on cardiovascular health.