Can emotional stress increase my risk of coronary heart disease?
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Dr. Dean Ornish answered:Emotional stress increases your risk of coronary heart disease in several ways. First, many people smoke, overeat, drink too much, work too hard, and abuse substances when they’re feeling stressed. It’s their way of coping with stress and getting through the day. Also, emotional stress makes your arteries constrict and your blood clot faster, and these mechanisms may precipitate a heart attack or stroke. In addition, emotional stress makes atherosclerosis (plaque) build up faster in your arteries.
Studies have shown that when monkeys who are genetically comparable and on the same diet are divided into two groups - one that’s put under emotional stress and one that isn’t - the stressed monkeys have 50 percent more plaque in their arteries than the unstressed monkeys even though their genes and diet are comparable in both groups.
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Emotional stress increases your risk of coronary heart disease in several ways. First, many people smoke, overeat, drink too much, work too hard, and abuse substances when they’re feeling stressed. It’s their way of coping with stress... More -
Dr. Furqan Tejani answered:In addition to coronary artery disease there is an entity known as Broken Heart Syndrome. In this disease due to an major emotional trauma, a person may have a substantial loss of his or her heart function. The good thing about this illness which has been described as Takatsubo cardiomyopathy is that after the stressful event has been withdrawn the function of the heart returns back to normalIn addition to coronary artery disease there is an entity known as Broken Heart Syndrome. In this disease due to an major emotional trauma, a person may have a substantial loss of his or her heart function. The good thing about this illness which... More -
Dr. Anthony Komaroff answered:The links between the heart and the mind are harder to measure than those between the heart and the waistline. But a growing body of evidence suggests that psychological factors are -- literally -- heartfelt, and can contribute to cardiac risk. Stress from all sorts of challenging situations and events plays a significant role in cardiovascular symptoms and outcomes, particularly heart attack risk. The same is true for depression, anxiety, anger, and hostility, as well for social isolation. Acting alone, each of these factors heightens your chances of developing heart problems. But emotional issues are often intertwined: people who have one commonly have another. For example, psychological stress often leads to anxiety, depression can lead to social isolation, and so on. When combined, their influence is compounded.The links between the heart and the mind are harder to measure than those between the heart and the waistline. But a growing body of evidence suggests that psychological factors are -- literally -- heartfelt, and can contribute to cardiac... More
