Stress can be defined as the brain’s response to any demand. Many things can trigger this response, including change. Changes can be positive or negative, as well as real or perceived. They may be recurring, short-term, or long-term and may include things like commuting to and from school or work every day, traveling for a yearly vacation, or moving to another home.
What happens when you are stressed?
Stress is what you feel when you have to handle more than you are used to. When you are stressed, your body responds as though you are in danger. It makes hormones that speed up your heart, make you breathe faster, and give you a burst of energy. This is called the fight-or-flight stress response.
Some stress is normal and even useful. Stress can help if you need to work hard or react quickly. For example, it can help you win a race or finish an important job on time.
How stress causes cardiovascular disease
Living a stressful life can cause people to adopt poor habits like smoking and eating badly, which in turn are risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
But being stressed itself can alter the way the body behaves and this can bring about changes to the blood and nervous system, which can have negative effects on your heart health.
Studies show that acute stress triggers reduced blood flow to the heart, promotes your heart to beat irregularly and increases the likelihood of your blood clotting. All of these can trigger the development of cardiovascular disease.
If you already have atherosclerosis and become acutely stressed you may experience chest pains caused by the arteries to your heart contracting and reducing the blood flow.
When experienced over an extended period of time, all these effects can cause damage to the lining of the blood vessels. This makes the blood vessels more susceptible to atherosclerosis.
How can you help yourself manage stress?
Breathing techniques, hobbies and other healthy habits can help you manage stress effectively. Follow the blog to keep updated on more ways to manage stress.
Note: We are grateful to authors for posting helpful content related to this article, whose links we have mapped into the article. We give you your due credit: you have helped save a heart.
