How Does Stress Affect the Heart

Stress is a physical or mental response to a change in mood or requirement of the body. It may be possible that stress is a response to positive or negative changes. Positive stress is usually a good thing, which is a driving force for the person to meet and achieve his or her goals. Negative stress is bad for a person, which will demotivate a person, and she may develop a chronic disease, which is worst-case scenario may lead to life-threatening complications.

What are the causes of stress?

There could be several causes of stress. It can be personal, emotional or work related stress. You may get stress from simple daily activities such as attending a work interview, or hurrying to catch a train. As a result your body’s immune system functions abnormally making it more susceptible to a range of diseases.

The most common and gastrointestinal and reproductive disorders, heart diseases, respiratory ailments and tendency to commit suicide.

What is the importance and function of heart?

In order to understand how stress affects the heart health, it is important to understand the functioning and importance of the human heart.

The heart is the main functioning part of the body. It supplies oxygenated blood to various parts of the body. If there is a blockage in the arteries, due to the accumulation of fat, then there is an improper circulation of blood. This may lead to many heart diseases; the main is a heart attack. It is important to take good care of the heart to lead a healthy life.

How stress affects heart health

Stress does directly affect the heart, but it affects the factors which can increase the risk of heart disease such as an increase in blood pressure and cholesterol levels. An increase in the cholesterol levels or blood pressure makes an effect on the heart making the person weak and causing difficulty in breathing. During such extreme conditions, the heart releases a hormone called adrenaline, which increases the rate of breathing, and this causes the blood pressure to rise.

In cases where there is constant stress, people resort to alcohol which affects the artery walls. People develop these habits, which indirectly pushes them towards the risk of heart diseases.