| Could stress and heart disease be linked? From a | | | | or a stroke. |
| common sense point of view it certainly makes a lot | | | | Is it stress that causes heart disease or heart disease |
| of sense. After all stress is your body's natural fight or | | | | that causes stress? At this point no one really know |
| flight mechanism flooding the body with multiple stress | | | | but from my point of view the answer probably lies |
| hormones including adrenaline and cortisol. These | | | | somewhere in the middle. Nevertheless, one thing |
| hormones put pressure on the heart and arteries, | | | | everyone agrees on is that finding ways to cope with |
| causing the arteries to narrow and the heart to beat | | | | stress is only smart preventative medicine. |
| faster. The fight or flight mechanism also takes blood | | | | Coping with stress is not as complicated at one might |
| away from non essential areas of the body and | | | | first think but will require a healthy dose of willpower, |
| forces it to the heart and brain in an attempt to survive | | | | along with the willingness to make changes. I will pass |
| whatever it has perceived as a threat. | | | | on a few I use in my daily life and hopefully you will find |
| Put plain and simply stress puts pressure on the heart. | | | | them useful. |
| It makes it work harder than it is would normally and | | | | *Daily exercise: When you are stressed you don't feel |
| exposes any weaknesses. Add this to the realization | | | | like exercising. But if you can get up the willpower to |
| that the heart loses pumping power over time and you | | | | take a 30 minute walk every day not only will you be |
| now have a dangerous, and potentially life threatening | | | | reducing stress but will be lowering your blood |
| situation, for those over the age of 40. It is a lot like | | | | cholesterol levels and secreting feel good endorphins |
| driving an old car way too fast, way too often. | | | | that help you to relax. |
| Eventually what will happen is the engine will stop | | | | *Learn to breath: Deep breathing helps get oxygen into |
| working, and that is exactly what happens with stress | | | | your bloodstream and eliminate toxins. When you feel |
| and heart disease. | | | | stress coming on simply take ten deep breaths letting |
| Perhaps if our flight or flight stress mechanism kicked | | | | each one out slowly through your mouth. |
| in just once in a while it would be fine but when you | | | | *Get enough sleep: Sleep is the body's way of |
| think about how many times a day you feel anxiety, | | | | resetting the deck chairs after a stressful day. For |
| and couple that with the fact that the heart beats | | | | every hour of sleep lost your chances of arterial |
| 100.000 times a day, and pumps 1,800 gallons through | | | | calcification increase by a third. So get your rest. |
| your arteries and veins each day, all of the sudden it | | | | *Talk, talk, talk: Next to exercise there is no better way |
| becomes increasingly clear how stress and heart | | | | to relieve nervous tension than through conversation, |
| disease could be linked. | | | | with women requiring about 2.5 times as many words |
| Stress basically just wears your heart out prematurely. | | | | a men to feel relaxed. |
| There is also some evidence to suggest that stress | | | | *Medication: Stress and heart disease are both serious |
| increases blood cholesterol levels which over time has | | | | problems for which there are many prescription |
| the potential to cause arteries to harden and arterial | | | | medications available. There are also herbal remedies |
| plaque deposits to form making the hearts job even | | | | for anxiety and natural cholesterol reduction |
| more difficult. It is safe to say that consistently asking | | | | supplements. Talk to your doctor to find the best |
| your heart to perform at such a high level will | | | | solution for your unique set of circumstances. |
| eventually result in irregular heart rhythms, heart attack, | | | | |