How Stress Affects the Heart: Health Risks

Let's look at the link between stress and the state of the heart, and to what extent it produces risks.

In the popular collective, the typical image of someone who, extremely stressed, ends up suffering from all kinds of medical conditions, such as hair loss, gastrointestinal problems and, also, a heart attack, is very well established.

Although the relationship between stressful situations and heart problems has always been taken for granted, it is only relatively recently that stress has been incorporated as a risk factor for cardiac pathologies.

In this article we will see how stress affects the heartexplaining the importance of the phases of evolution of a stressful response in addition to commenting on some strategies to achieve a healthier heart.

How does stress affect the heart?

Stress is an emotion that is present in everyone at some point in their lives. Like any emotion, it involves a series of consequences depending on its degree of occurrence, intensity and type.

One of the most popular definitions of stress is that it is a fight or flight reaction to a threatening situation, although this is not entirely correct. Today, we understand stress to be a physiological, psychological and psychological response to a threatening situation. physiological, psychological and behavioral response that a subject carries out to adjust and adapt to pressures, both internal and external, to which he/she is exposed.to which he or she has been subjected, both internal and external.

These pressures can be truly threatening and involve a negative response in both the individual's mind and body (distress). However, stress can also appear in a context that is beneficial to health, such as the performance of a high-intensity sport (eustress).

As mentioned above, stress involves a physiological response, which can be observed by looking at the can be observed by looking at the hormonal changes that the individual exhibits. The organism puts itself on guard and prepares itself to face a situation that it must overcome to guarantee its survival. A whole series of circulatory changes occur. The levels of glucose, red blood cells, leukocytes and platelets in the bloodstream rise.

The body focuses its energies on the brain, heart and muscles, to the detriment of other organs. The heart rate increases, the muscles contract, increasing for a short period of time. The heart rate increases, the muscles contract, increasing for a brief period of time the individual's strength, breathing accelerates, the coronary vessels dilate and also the skeletal muscles, while the vessels related to the digestive system contract. The bladder relaxes, the rectum contracts, the pupils dilate and the body begins to sweat.

Cardiovascular diseases

Although stress has been linked to heart problems since time immemorial, it is only relatively recently that stress has been included as an enhancer of cardiovascular disease. Cardiopsychology is the branch of health sciences concerned with defining the relationship between psychosocial factors and the onset and rehabilitation of heart disease.

People who are more susceptible to this emotion more often are also more prone to manifest cardiovascular problems, such as heart disease. cardiovascular problems, such as cerebral ischemia or stroke, angina pectoris and heart attack..

Blood pressure rises and malignant arrhythmias occur. There is a higher risk of thrombi, since blood platelets increase and there is greater coagulation. In turn, insulin efficacy decreases and levels of low-density lipoproteins, popularly known as good cholesterol, also drop. The blood becomes thicker and the arteries lose elasticity, accumulating harmful substances on their walls and hindering the passage of blood.

The sympathetic nervous system, if kept active for a long time, starts to work inefficiently.. This causes problems of electrical conduction to the heart, contributing to an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia). In the most severe cases, the arrhythmia can transform into sudden heart failure, which would cause the death of the individual.

Importance of the phases of stress

As already commented, not all stress is bad. On the contrary, it is a response that guarantees the survival of the individual if it occurs in the right situation and at levels that are high functioning for the individual.

The problem comes when the organism manifests this response for too long or with too high an intensity in the face of a threat that, perhaps, is not such a big deal. to a threat that, perhaps, is not such a big deal.

That is why, in order to understand a little more deeply the difference between healthy stress and distress, we present the phases of this process, relating them to cardiovascular health.

1. First phase: alarm

Alarm is the first phase that occurs in response to a stressful event. It is here that the individual decides to opt for one of the following two strategies: fight or flight.

This phase involves a high consumption of energy and is key for the individual to adapt to the new situation.

If the alarm phase is adequately overcome, automatically passes to the recovery phase, inhibiting the sympathetic nervous system and predominating the parasympathetic nervous system, which restores the balance and the parasympathetic system predominates, which restores the equilibrium prior to the occurrence of the stressful stimulus.

2. Second phase: resistance

If the first phase has not been successfully overcome and recovery has not occurred, the resistance phase is entered.

The individual remains active and focuses his or her strength to cope with the threatening situation, which progressively depletes the energy reserves. On the other hand, the neuroendocrine system the neuroendocrine system is subjected to intense activity, causing it to become inactive.This causes it to become inefficient to the point of failure.

The reasons why stress manifests itself ineffectively may be related to being exposed to a very intense acute or chronic stressor.

It may also be due to the individual himself, who has a personality disorder, does not have efficient resources to cope with stress or has an organic disease that influences the neuroendocrine system.

3. Third phase: exhaustion

At this point, in which the organism has been subjected to a lot of pressure, stress becomes a problem for the body, stress becomes a health problemIt contributes to the appearance of both physical and psychological pathology.

How to prevent the effects of stress on the heart?

One of the fundamental factors for a good quality of life is to have low levels of stress, in addition to having the necessary resources to know how to cope in a healthy way with situations that involve some change or are threatening. Below are some strategies that help to reduce the harmful effects of stress on cardiovascular health.

1. Physical exercise

Sedentary people are more prone to heart problems. This is not only because not exercising frequently implies health problems in itself, but also because people who do not engage in frequent physical activity tend to feel more moody and irascible.

Thus, their cardiovascular risk is double, given that they can develop medical conditions such as obesity, high Blood Pressure or hypercholesterolemia, implying a greater pressure on the heart.

It is advisable to perform exercises in which large muscle groups are involved for long periods of time, as is the case for example for long periods of time, such as swimming, cycling or aerobics.

2. Food

Another fundamental key to good cardiovascular health is to control what you eat.

A balanced diet with appropriate amounts of carbohydrates, healthy fats, proteins, trace elements and vitamins promotes the proper functioning of the cardiovascular system, as well as good emotional stability.

Fats and sugars can contribute to being in a bad mood, and therefore tend to be in a bad mood.and therefore tend to be stressed. Foods containing these nutrients should be consumed in moderation. The consumption of caffeinated beverages should also be reduced, especially cola and coffee, as well as alcoholic beverages and tobacco, since their components enhance the onset of stress.

It should be noted that not all caffeinated beverages are potentially stressful, since green tea favors the positive regulation of stress hormones.

3. Sleep well

Those who sleep poorly find themselves in a bad mood the next day and, of course, are more prone to go on the attack at the slightest opportunity. One should try to sleep at least seven hours a day, since sleep contributes to cell renewal.

Not sleeping can cause the individual to be immersed in a self-feeding cycle, as he/she becomes increasingly stressed and, in turn, the stress causes insomnia.The individual becomes increasingly stressed and, in turn, the stress causes insomnia.

4. Meditation

Techniques such as pilates, yoga, tai chi or simple controlled breathing can be of great benefit in reducing stress, calming not only the mind but also the heart.

With this type of techniques the heart rate is reduced, reducing the risk of suffering from heart problems.The risk of suffering heart problems such as heart attacks or irregular heartbeat is reduced. Blood pressure decreases, circulation and the immune system improve.

5. Professional help

If you have serious stress management problems and are already experiencing symptoms of a possible heart problem, it is never a bad idea to seek professional help.

The doctor will make sure whether or not there is a risk of heart disease, while seeing a psychologist will help you acquire strategies for coping with stressful situations. to cope adequately with the situations that cause stress.

In case too much stress is manifested because the person is very irascible, it is highly recommended to attend anger management courses.

Bibliographical references:

• Alonso-Fernández, C. (2009). Stress in cardiovascular diseases. In López-Farré, A. and Macaya-Miguel, C. Libro de la salud cardiovascular del Hospital Clínico San Carlos y la Fundación BBVA. (583-590). Spain: BBVA Foundation.
• Cohen B. E., Edmondson D., Kronish I. M. (2015). State of the art review: depression, stress, anxiety, and cardiovascular disease. Am J Hypertens. 2015;28(11):1295-1302.
• Wei J., Rooks C., Ramadan R., et al (2014). Meta-analysis of mental stress-induced myocardial ischemia and subsequent cardiac events in patients with coronary artery disease. Am J Cardiol.114(2):187-192.
• Williams, R. B. (2015). Anger and mental stress-induced myocardial ischemia: mechanisms and clinical implications. Am Heart J;169(1):4-5.