Heart disease has been the leading cause of death in the United States for over a century. Along with stroke, it claims more American lives every year than all forms of cancer and chronic lung disease combined.
When you consider the factors that make heart damage and disease more likely, chances are you think of:
Another major risk factor doesn’t get as much attention: chronic stress. Here, Dr. Laura Fernandes of Woodlands Heart and Vascular Institute explains how stress can take a toll on your heart.
Chronic stress is the prolonged, relentless state of overwhelm that persists for weeks, months, or even years. Whether it stems from work pressures, environmental hazards, financial strain, relationship issues, or all the above, this ongoing burden can cause:
By continuously activating your body’s fight-or-flight response, chronic stress leaves you feeling perpetually irritable or anxious. It also triggers the round-the-clock release of stress hormones, setting the stage for systemic low-grade inflammation.
With its inflammatory pathways, anxiety-inducing nature, and adverse impact on blood pressure, chronic stress can inflict the kind of damage that contributes to and accelerates heart disease.
But even in people with no significant cardiovascular damage, stress can cause sudden, severe heart problems. You may know that it raises your blood pressure and makes your heart work harder, but did you know it can also:
Chronic stress prompts an increase in the production of white blood cells. These extra cells can inflame and damage the inner lining of your arteries, making it easier for LDL cholesterol to oxidize and form plaque that narrows or blocks the vessel (atherosclerosis).
The low-grade systemic inflammation associated with chronic stress can destabilize and rupture the plaque in your arteries, leading to the formation of blood clots. Blood clots that travel through the bloodstream are a primary cause of heart attack and stroke.
Stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline trigger the release of chemicals that cause blood cells to become “stickier,” making blood clot formation even more likely.
That significantly increases the chances of developing a blockage in an artery already narrowed by plaque — and drastically raises your risk of suffering a sudden cardiovascular event.
The sudden onset of severe distress or anger — especially against a background of chronic stress — can make your arteries spasm. A surge in adrenaline or cortisol can also disrupt the heart’s electrical impulses, triggering palpitations, skipped beats, or dangerous heart rhythms.
Chronic stress or intense anger can reduce blood flow to your heart (ischemia), triggering coronary artery spasms or microvascular dysfunction — often without causing symptoms.
The “silent” damage of stress-induced ischemia is associated with a two-fold increased risk of subsequent adverse cardiovascular events, including heart attack.
Extreme stress, including intense grief, can overwhelm the heart with adrenaline and cause short-term, reversible weakening of the heart muscle (temporary heart failure).
Known as Takotsubo cardiomyopathy or broken heart syndrome, this condition leaves the heart unable to pump blood efficiently, leading to symptoms that mimic a heart attack (but without any underlying arterial blockage).
Chronic stress often interferes with sleep, keeping your heart in a heightened state of activity — and your blood pressure and heart rate abnormally elevated — through the night. Blood pressure management and cardiovascular repair require restful sleep.
Ongoing stress doesn’t always trigger concerning symptoms until the damage is advanced. For some people with chronic stress, a non-fatal heart attack serves as a wake-up call.
Don’t let it get that far. Mindful stress management techniques can help reverse harmful cardiovascular trends and protect your heart. Effective strategies include:
Also, seek out opportunities for humor: Laughter lowers stress hormone output and blood pressure.
To learn more about the cardiovascular effects of stress, schedule a visit to Woodlands Heart and Vascular Institute in The Woodlands, Texas, today.
