Heart Diseases Info

Heart Attack Survivors Resource

A Guide to Stress and Heart Disease


Most of the present medical literature on stress and heart disease refers to physical stress, however most people are referring to the emotional variety when they are talking about the stress factor in particular. Both kinds of stress can be related to heart disease, although each relates to it in a different way.

Physical Stress and Heart Disease

The physical form of stress is that which places measurable and reproducible demands on the heart, and it is this physical stress which is generally acknowledged as being good and in fact, the lack of physical stress is what constitutes as being a major risk factor for coronary artery disease.

Emotional Stress and Heart Disease

Then there is the connection between emotional stress and heart disease, and this is considered as being the more monumental connection, as emotional stress is generally the type of stress that people are talking about when they are referring to stress causing heart disease. If emotional stress is severe enough it can be incredibly dangerous, not only in regards to heart disease but to other diseases and ailments as well.

There is a great deal of evidence that associates emotional stress as being associated with heart disease and early death however a lot of this is only circumstantial evidence. Several studies in particular have documented that people who have experienced recent major life changes, such as the loss of a spouse or someone else close to them, tend to have a much higher incidence of death.

The main reason that stress is so likely to cause heart disease is because the surge in adrenaline that is caused by severe emotional stress results in causing the blood to clot more readily, thus greatly increasing the risk of heart attacks and other coronary problems.

What can be Done

If you are interested in learning about what can be done to avoid the negative effects caused by the connection of stress and heart disease, then one of the first things you should consider is acquiring a healthier lifestyle. This means if you smoke or drink alcohol that you should quit as soon as possible, and as well you want to make sure that you eat a healthy and nutritious diet and as well get a proper amount of physical activity on a regular basis.

By ensuring as best as possible that you are maintaining the healthiest lifestyle that you can, you are not only less likely to suffer from heart disease but as well will be more protected and guarded against various other heart and health problems.

However even if your doctor does prescribe a medication, you still have to follow your healthy diet, be more physically active, stop cigarette smoking if you smoke and as well control your other various risk factors, such as high blood pressure and diabetes for instance. Although there is no surefire way to completely protect yourself against the development of heart disease, by watching out for early signs and symptoms and maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle, you will be able to greatly reduce your risk of developing any form of heart disease in the future. Perhaps you have seen a picture of the lungs of a smoker, if you have not, one way to describe them is black trash bags you certainly do not want your lungs to look like that now do you?