Heart Under Pressure: The Real Cost Of Stress

Whether it’s an upset stomach or sweaty hands, so many of our day-to-day issues are caused by stress. How stressful you feel and how you react to it can be a cause of a variety of health problems, including heart disease. Stress is a growing risk for developing coronary heart disease and other cardiovascular conditions today. Since stressors and triggers are different for different individuals, it is important to identify whether stress is work-related, arising from personal issues, or a cause of an underlying condition that needs treatment. The better you manage stress, the better quality of life you can start to enjoy.

What you need to know:

Understanding stress and heart disease
How stress impacts heart health
Tips to reduce stress

Understanding stress and heart disease

You may be stressed because of various reasons. Any stressful event can have a profound impact on your heart health. People unhappy in their personal lives are as likely to develop serious cardiovascular conditions as a diabetic or a smoker. At the same time, work-related stress seems to be rising every day. People who are worried about losing their jobs are experiencing poor heart health, and so are those who are happy with their work. Either competitiveness at the workplace adds stress to their lives, or it is a poor balance between home and work. Stress is sneaking into your life, even during events that are supposed to be enjoyable. The only solution to the ‘stress problem’ is identifying stressors and taking steps to mitigate them.

How stress impacts heart health

Stress can significantly impact your heart health. Stress puts your body in a ‘fight or flight’ mode, leading to the release of hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. While it’s a useful short-term response, over some time, chronic stress can have many negative effects on your heart health for several reasons:

Elevated heart rate and blood pressure

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Stress increases your heartbeat and causes your blood pressure to rise. Constantly elevated heart rate and blood pressure can damage the arteries of the heart and increase the risk of hypertension.

Inflammation

Chronic stress can cause higher levels of inflammation in the body. This can lead to plaque buildup in the arteries and contribute to coronary artery disease and other cardiovascular conditions.

Poor lifestyle choices

The coping mechanisms for chronic stress are quite often unhealthy. To deal with unmanaged stress, people often indulge in activities like smoking, overeating or eating junk food, and drinking alcohol, all of which negatively impact their heart health.

Poor sleep

Stress, especially when chronic, interferes with your sleep patterns and deteriorates your quality of sleep. Poor sleep is the cause of various cardiovascular conditions, such as hypertension and heart disease.

Impaired heart function

Chronic stress affects the heart’s ability to function properly. This can either lead to issues like coronary heart disease or exacerbate existing heart conditions.

When thinking about good heart health, stress management is vital.

Tips to reduce stress

Managing stress doesn’t always require professional intervention. It is mostly manageable by making certain changes and incorporating healthier day-to-day choices:

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Regularly exercise or indulge in any other physical activity like swimming or cycling.
Make time for yourself to enjoy with friends and family or to indulge in activities that you like.
Get adequate sleep but avoid oversleeping.
Practise mindfulness through meditation and deep breathing exercises or participate in activities like yoga.

When dealing with the effects of long-term stress, speaking to a professional can be beneficial to develop effective stress management strategies.

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