Causes of Heart Disease: Stress

Is Stress A Cause Of Heart Disease?

Many of you may be wondering, is stress really a cause of heart disease?  The short answer is no one really knows for sure.  Stress is considered a contributing factor to heart disease, which means its link and effects are largely unknown and just pondered upon.  Due to the largely different reactions we all have to stress, whether it is emotional, physical, or mental, it is hard to really pin down the exact effects it has on the heart and it’s health.
Many people do feel that stress is a large cause of heart disease due to several possible reasons.  When a person is put into a stressful situation, heart rate and blood pressure raise which increases your need for oxygen.

Another thing that happens during stress is that hormones are released, usually in the form of adrenaline.  When this happens blood pressure raises and can damage the arterial lining.  Then what happens is when the arterial walls heal they may harden and thicken  which makes plaque build up much easier.

Another reason stress is considered a cause of heart disease is due to the fact that it increases the amount of blood clotting factors circulating around in your blood and makes it much more likely a clot will form.  This can then block an artery whose walls have been narrowed by plaque and be a rather sudden cause of a heart attack.

Something else to keep in mind about stress and whether it is a cause of heart disease, is the fact that many people, when under stress of some kind tend to pick up unhealthy habits, such as emotional eating, which can then contribute to obesity, or they will either start smoking or increase their smoking habits.  This will contribute to other risk factors that most definitely are a proven cause of heart disease!

You can reduce your risk of stress (and work on preventing heart disease at the same time) by exercising regularly and eating a balanced diet.