How can stress increase my risk for heart disease?

Stressful events and feelings can raise the levels of stress hormones in your blood. These hormones, in turn, raise your heart rate and blood pressure. You can’t remove all the stress from your life, but you can learn ways to cope with stress.

Stress can raise blood pressure, reduce blood flow to the heart, decrease the heart's pumping ability, trigger abnormal pumping rhythms, and activate the blood's clotting system and its inflammatory response. Surprisingly, research indicates that constant stress may be more harmful to your heart than major life changes. For instance, one large study found that women who cared for a disabled spouse for at least nine hours a week faced a higher chance of having a heart attack or dying from heart disease than women without such spousal responsibilities.