Did you know that one of the most ignored factors that can harm your heart health is stress? Stress is something everyone experiences in their lifetime, however, for some, it can be more harmful than others. Evidence reveals that stress may not directly cause heart disease but contribute to factors that increase the risk of heart disease. In this article, learn what the connection between stress and heart disease is and when you should talk to a healthcare provider about your stress. Get a consultation with the best cardiologists in Brooklyn.
Can stress affect people in different ways
Yes, stress can affect people in different ways because everyone is different in how they handle the stressors in life. Some people handle their stress well due to their past experiences and how they learned to cope with their effects. In contrast, some people struggle to handle their stress which can lead to heart problems. Factors like genetics, environment, and lifestyle can work together in the development of disease.
In a study, it was found that people with high stress, a history of depression, and other psychosocial factors will increase the risk of heart attack by 2.5 times compared to people who had low stress or no history of depression. Other research has revealed stress is connected to heart disease in certain demographics like women, people from particular ethnic or racial backgrounds, and those with mental health disorders.
Not all symptoms during stress occur due to heart problems, but symptoms like a racing heart tell how your body normally feels when you’re overwhelmed. So, if you have experienced new or recurrent symptoms that may lead to heart issues, you should talk to your doctor to find out what is causing the symptoms and get treated.
The science behind stress and its effects on the heart
Experts believe that stress may not directly cause heart disease, however, research suggests that it may increase the risk of a person who is already vulnerable to heart disease. Stress can affect your heart based on its type. Stress has two types – acute and chronic stress.
- Acute stress:
This type of stress is short-lived and generally occurs from a single, isolated event. However, our body perceives this as a threat and prepares us to respond in fight or flight mode. During this stress response, our blood pressure rises, heartbeats get faster, and breathing becomes shallow. However, these effects are temporary and go away as the stressful event is over.
Research reveals that acute stress may not cause a long-term effect, but the temporary effects can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. For instance, heart attacks are common in people who experience natural disasters. Severe stress or intense emotions can be factors that contribute to takotsubo cardiomyopathy or broken heart syndrome.
- Chronic stress:
This stress persists over longer periods like weeks, months, and longer which disrupts heart function by increasing blood pressure, raising inflammation, leading to irregular heart rate and rhythm, and decreasing the blood flow to the heart. However, scientists are still trying to understand how this might lead to heart disease. It is believed that stress influences the risk of heart disease in several ways (behaviors such as smoking, excessive alcohol use, physical inactivity, and an imbalanced diet) which raise the risk of heart disease.
In some cases, stress that occurs due to social and economic circumstances may cause additional knock-off effects on heart health. For instance, financial insecurity can raise stress and become the reason why a person cannot access fresh food, and time to exercise or relax. These factors are called by experts as “contributory risk” or “underlying determinant” of heart disease.
Signs that stress is affecting your heart
There is no direct way to tell whether stress is affecting your heart or not. Some people notice an increase in heart rate and blood pressure when they are stressed, but this doesn’t indicate long-term damage. Many factors can influence heart rate and blood pressure, including anxiety, other emotions, physical activity, and more. People should talk with their doctors if they have concerns. These signs might indicate that they have CVD:
- Persistent high blood pressure
- An irregular heartbeat
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Dizziness or feeling faint
- Fatigue
- Swelling in the limbs
Cycles of stress and its effects on your heart
While everyone reacts differently to long-term physical or emotional tension, it can be more damaging to some than to others. For instance, some experiencing chronic stress or worry may tend to eat more which leads to weight gain. Increased weight may raise blood pressure and trigger the risks of diabetes. Lack of sleep due to worry can increase cortisol levels which is associated with high blood sugar and increased body weight. All these factors can cause harm to your heart.
Stress may also cause some people to compromise their heart health to alleviate their unhealthy lifestyles like smoking or alcohol abuse, which further intensify stress on the cardiovascular system. Chronic tension is something that we frequently encounter but don’t recognize its effect on us. As we all know smoking is bad for the health and bad for your heart, but it may never occur to us that chronic stress is harmful to our hearts as well.
So, take time to recognize the negative role it can play. Remember, its effects on the heart may not be noticeable at first. But later, serious conditions like high blood pressure, increased hormone dysregulation, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar often have no symptoms. Yet their long-term impact is very well known. So, proactively take the help of screening for these conditions to ensure your health isn’t compromised.
Talk to your healthcare provider about your level of stress
If you’re concerned about your stress levels then you should talk to your primary care provider or a cardiologist because many times stress from your family, job, or community has a lot of impact which may contribute to your blood pressure, weight, and ultimately increase the risk of heart disease. Talking about stress helps the provider to understand your circumstances, stressors, and stress levels.
They can suggest some helpful resources, recommendations, and tools that help you manage your stress better. It may include increased physical activity, yoga, and other relaxation techniques, improvements to sleep hygiene, spending time with others, psychotherapy, social work resources or aid to healthcare access, and even medication to help you manage your ongoing symptoms of depression and anxiety. Stress management techniques that work for you might be different than others. That’s why it is important to talk and share what causes stress and what techniques will be appropriate for you.
Stress and heart disease may not be directly connected but stress can cause some factors that increase the risk of developing heart disease. It may not be the same for everyone, but if you notice the above-mentioned symptoms of stress that lead to heart disease, you should talk with a primary care doctor or cardiologist to find the appropriate ways to manage your stress.
Did your stress put a strain on your heart? Visit our cardiology clinic in Brooklyn to get professional medical help. For any cardiovascular problems, call us on +1(347) 384-5690. The Cardiologists at Doral Health & Wellness consistently have outstanding patient satisfaction ratings. The professionals at Doral Health & Wellness Cardiology Brooklyn can improve your health and quality of life because of their vast training and experience. New Yorkers can get the greatest medical, surgical, and cardiovascular care at Doral Health & Wellness Brooklyn. Visit us at 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11212.
