Stress and Heart Health

by Max Jones | Dec 26, 2015 | Health | 0 comments

Coronary heart diseases are common nowadays, with stress and heart health being often interrelated to each other. Heart diseases are hitting various age groups from various backgrounds.

Stress is a condition that is felt by almost everyone at least once in a lifetime. Stress can be a positive force that drives you to do something constructive or it might be a negative force that might become chronic unless you take a serious step.

Heart disease is considered the leading killer diseases of Americans. More and more research is being conducted to determine the effect of stress on heart health. Coronary artery diseases may have several risk factors, like the major factors are:

Smoking
High BP
High cholesterol
Less activity
Obesity and diabetes
Family history of coronary heart diseases etc.
Stress and heart diseases:

There are no proven evidences that suggest that heart diseases can be caused by stress, yet if you have a heart problem then it is advised to keep away from any kind of exhaustive environments, feelings of anxiety and mental health disturbing issues. Many scientists believe that they are getting evidences to believe that in some people, at least, many heart problems are being initiated due to stress. The scientists claim that stress does not affect the heart directly, but it indirectly causes heart problems.

Stress is known to cause:

A release of certain chemical or hormones that increase the blood pressure in the arteries. The chemical changes are now known to be caused due to the release of cortical and adrenaline hormones that are hugely released during stressful conditions. Research is still being carried out to find how healthy heart is disturbed due to the release of these hormones and how these hormones causes the deposition of fatty acids in the arteries.
Stress is also known to affect the state of mind we are in and induces us to opt for short term fixes rather than trying for long term action to deal with the issues. Stress may encourage you to take up binge eating, smoking or alcohol as a method to relieve it.
Stress is also known to discourage the person from spending time on quality activities like exercise and physical sports.

Managing stress to manage a healthy heart:

Not only for a healthy heart, one should aim at controlling stress to get overall good health. The heart is an integral part of our body and managing stress is an effective way to manage heart problems. Here, are a few ways by which you can keep the stress out of your life and process:

Positive thinking: Positive thoughts and feelings should be inculcated as a means to fight difficult situations and ward off any negative vibes. A good laugh is known to lower the levels of stress hormones. Laughter is also known to help in reducing the high blood pressure and bring it to normal levels.

Meditation: Meditation or soul searching is another way to relieve stress. Meditation and yoga are known to keep away heart diseases by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels in the body. Meditation, makes you stronger both physically and mentally. A close relative of meditation is prayer, it can also help you keep your mind and body relaxed.

Exercise: It is a good way to kill two birds with a single arrow. You can not only bust stress with the help of exercise, you can also stay away from heart problems with the help of proper exercising. Exercise, in any form is known to release mood enhancing chemicals known as endorphins and they help your body and mind to relax smoothly. Similarly, doing exercise helps to lower the high blood pressure and high cholesterol, hence preventing heart problems.

Try to take a break: In this fast paced world, taking a break and keeping away from all the stressful things is nearly impossible, but you can try to take short plug off moments to switch off your connections with the virtual world and relax for a few moments in your own space. Do this at least once in a day for 15 to 20 minutes by switching off your mobile, shutting the tv and computers down and relaxing in a peaceful, noiseless environment.