Stress may be Injurious to Heart Health

New study findings indicate that mental stress took a significantly greater toll on the heart and life than physical stress.

Stress may be a major risk factor of heart diseases apart from high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, obesity, and physical inactivity, according to a new study published in JAMA.

The new study assessed the fates of 918 patients known to have underlying, but stable, heart disease to see how their bodies reacted to physical and mental stress.

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‘Chronic psychological stress is more important to heart health than the traditional risk factors.’

The participants underwent standardized physical and mental stress tests to see if their hearts had ischemia (reduced blood flow), which can be a trigger for cardiovascular events. Then the researchers followed them for four to nine years.

Among the study participants who experienced ischemia during one or both tests, this adverse reaction to mental stress took a significantly greater toll on the hearts and lives of the patients than did physical stress.

They were more likely to suffer a nonfatal heart attack or die of cardiovascular disease in the years that followed.

How Does The Body React To Stress
Physical symptoms of stress on the body are varied, ranging from hormonal changes to changes in the nervous system, manifesting as the flight-fight-freeze response.

The new findings underscore the results of an earlier study that evaluated the relationship between risk factors and heart disease in 24,767 patients from 52 countries.

It found that patients who experienced a high level of psychological stress during the year before they entered the study were more than twice as likely to suffer a heart attack during an average follow-up of five years, even when traditional risk factors were taken into account.

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The effect of stress on the heart starts in the brain’s fear center, the amygdala, which reacts to stress by activating the so-called fight-or-flight response, triggering the release of hormones that over time can increase levels of body fat, blood pressure, and insulin resistance.

Furthermore, the cascade of reactions to stress causes inflammation in the blood vessel, fosters blood clotting, and impairs the function of blood vessels, all of which promote heart attacks and strokes.

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Heart Attack occurs when the flow of oxygenated blood to heart muscles is hindered or stopped due to built-up of plaques in coronary arteries. Heart Attack is the No.1 killer among Indians.

This accumulated evidence of how the brain and body respond to chronic psychological stress strongly suggested that modern medicine has been neglecting a critically important hazard to heart health.

The researchers are now investigating the impact of a stress-reducing program called SMART-3RP (it stands for Stress Management and Resiliency Training-Relaxation Response Resiliency Program) on the brain as well as biological factors that promote heart attack and stroke.

The program is designed to help people reduce stress and build resilience through mind-body techniques like mindfulness-based meditation, yoga, and tai chi. Such measures activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which calms the brain and body.

Source-Medindia