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Stress and Heart Health: How Are They Related?

Stress and Heart Health: How Are They Related?



Stress and Heart Health: How Are They Related?

Reviewed by Dr.Navid

Stress, an inevitable part of life for many, goes beyond momentary anxiety and pressure, posing significant implications for heart health. Both chronic and acute stress, with their unique impacts, can profoundly affect the cardiovascular system. This blog aims to unravel the complex relationship between stress and heart health, exploring how psychological stressors can translate into physical heart conditions. We will also incorporate insights from the Gargash cardiology department, providing a well-rounded perspective on this critical health concern and its management.

What is stress?

Stress can come from various sources, including external factors like difficult work conditions and personal conflicts, or internal issues such as illness or recovering from surgery. Stress can have physical, mental, and emotional effects on the body. When exposed to stressors, the body responds by releasing hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, which trigger the 'fight-or-flight' response.

Stress is a normal and often useful reaction to threats, triggering our rapid response system but harmful long-term. Chronic stress ensures that the body is always on alert, and this causes numerous health problems, especially for the heart. Learning how stress works is important because that explains how it affects cardiovascular health and general wellbeing.

What is chronic stress?

Chronic stress is a prolonged and persistent feeling of stress that is harmful to a person’s health, especially the heart. This might be due to ongoing pressures such as financial worries, relationship difficulties, or persistent work stress. 

Constantly being exposed to stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline leads to hypertension, poor immunity, and inflammation of arteries , a very crucial component of the cardiovascular problem associated with coronary artery disease.

What is acute stress?

Acute stress represents the body's immediate reaction to a perceived threat or challenge, often described as the 'fight or flight' response. Adrenaline is one of the stress hormones the body releases during an acute stress episode, which causes an increased heart rate and blood pressure. This temporary spike puts extra strain on the heart and cardiovascular system. 

For individuals with pre-existing heart conditions, such heightened cardiovascular responses can increase the risk of events like heart attacks. 

How Does Stress Affect Your Heart?

The Gargash cardiology department notes that the body’s response to stress involves a cascade of hormonal releases, including cortisol and adrenaline, which prepare it for emergency action. .

Persistent hypertension and increased heart rate resulting from chronic stress are detrimental to the cardiovascular system. It may speed up atherosclerosis, where arteries become blocked and thickened, resulting in an increased risk of heart attacks and stroke. In addition, the Gargash’s cardiology department emphasizes that stress frequently results in dangerous habits such as an unhealthy diet, smoking, and minimal exercise, all of which constitute independent risk factors for heart diseases.

Conclusion

The intricate relationship between stress and heart health is undeniable. . The insights from the Gargash Hospital’s cardiology department emphasize the importance of recognizing and managing stress as a key factor in heart health. Stress reduction strategies should be adopted along with routine heart health checks. In the world of today, in which stress becomes an inevitable element of our everyday existence, our focus should be on how we can minimize stress to maintain the healthy functioning of our hearts and general wellness in the long run.