Stress cause heart disease

Does stress cause heart disease? The answer is far from
simple. Scientists have yet to discover whether stress is an
independent risk factor for heart disease—meaning stress
alone is enough to cause heart disease — or whether the
behaviors and other problems associated with stress
increase other risk factors for heart disease such as high
blood pressure, obesity, or poor dietary habits.
One thing is known, however, the effect of chronic stress on
your mind, body, and heart are detrimental enough to
warrant as much attention as confirmed risk factors like
high blood pressure and high cholesterol . The more you can
do to find healthy ways of managing stress today, the better
your life (and heart) will be.
How your body responds to stress
When you experience stress, your body goes through a
series of physiological responses that feed into your nervous
system and circulatory system and affect everything from
hormones to heart rate.
The “fight-or-flight” response of the body during times of
stress is well-documented. This instinctive response floods
your body with adrenaline and cortisol, which increases
heart rate, redirects blood flow to the muscular system,
releases fats into the bloodstream for use as energy,
increases breathing rate, tenses muscles, and increases
your blood’s clotting ability—all of which are intended to
help you fight off (or run from) an opponent. The only
problem is, most often the cause of stress is not a saber-
toothed tiger but a long day at the office. Your body doesn’t
know the difference, so it reacts to all stress in the same
way. Over time, this can wreak havoc on your health
physically, mentally, and emotionally.
How your heart is affected by stress
Stress affects your cardiovascular system in several ways:
1. Heart rate increases.
2. The rate of blood flow speeds up, increasing blood pressure.
3. The release of fatty acids into the bloodstream for energy
increases cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
4. Under chronic stress, the continued release of cortisol
seems to have some effect on where fat is deposited in the
body, most often in the abdomen.
The effect of chronic stress on your heart
Over time, the physiological reactions to stress can take a
toll on your cardiovascular system:
1. Due to an increased heart rate, it's possible that your heart
could take on an abnormal heart rhythm or you could have
problems with the heart muscle itself.
2. Due to the increase in blood pressure, your cardiovascular
system can have all of the usual associated problems with
hypertension including increased risk for heart disease and
stroke .
3. Due to the increase in cholesterol and triglycerides in your
bloodstream, there is potential for your arteries to thicken
with plaque over time, which could lead to coronary artery
disease or heart attack .
4. The deposit of fat in the abdomen, leading to an “apple”
shape, is a marker of metabolic syndrome and is
considered a risk factor for heart disease.
The bottom line
Regardless of whether stress is enough to cause heart
disease on its own or it impacts other factors that lead to
heart trouble, it’s known that chronic stress negatively
affects your health. Finding healthy ways to manage stress
is vital to your future, because we all know that stress isn’t
going away anytime soon (unfortunately). Click here for
ideas on how to reduce stress.
SOURCES: Web MD, Human Physiology (McGraw-Hill, 7th
edition), The American Institute of Stress, Mayo Clinic,
eHealth MD, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute,
American Heart Association, Yale Medical School.
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