Does Stress contribute to cardiovascular diseases?
Diseases of the heart and blood vessels known as cardiovascular diseases can be caused by stress in various ways. These include
1) its direct link to raising blood pressure;
2) inducing changes in the structure of the heart, and;
3) causing narrowing of the blood vessels.
The direct link between stress and blood pressure
Stress hormones that are released during stressful situations, cause spikes in blood pressure. This increase in blood pressure may not subside after the stressful situation has passed.
It may remain elevated for a long time. When we are exposed to stress repeatedly, it makes it harder for blood pressure to return to normal.
This persistent increase in blood pressure may finally lead to hypertension, a serious risk factor for cardiovascular diseases like strokes, kidney failure, etc.
This makes it important to stay mindful of stressors in our lives and ensure that we can reduce stress and the dangerous effect it has on blood pressure.
The link between stress and changes in the heart walls
Extremely stressful situations like the loss of a loved one, accidents, loss of a job, violence, and others can lead to the release of massive amounts of stress hormones like adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol.
These stress hormones act directly on the heart walls, make them weak, and prevent them from beating properly. It also causes the blood vessels supplying blood to the heart walls to contract.
This may cause a feeling of crushing pain in the chest, that is similar to a heart attack. This is commonly referred to as a “broken heart”.
This is not the same as a heart attack because it wears off with time. In rare cases, the changes in the heart can persist for a long time.
However, repeated experiences of extremely stressful situations can put the heart under a lot of pressure which may increase the risk of developing a cardiovascular disease like heart attacks or heart failure in the long run.
That is why it is important to take time to heal after experiencing an extremely stressful experience.
The link between stress and the narrowing of the blood vessels
We mentioned earlier that stress hormones make the blood vessels contract suddenly, quickly, and repeatedly (spasms) and get narrow. But it can get worse than that.
Stress hormones also cause the release of fats (triglycerides) into the blood. This leads to an increase in bad cholesterol in the blood. This in turn accumulates in the blood vessels and forms plaques that narrow the blood vessels.
Another way that stress hormones narrow blood vessels is through the release of platelets and clotting factors into the blood. If this persists for a long time, it leads to the build up of blood clots in the blood vessels. This leads to the narrowing of the blood vessels.
In addition to this, stress hormones also activate the white blood cells to ensure that the body has the immunity it has to respond to injuries and infections that may arise during stressful situations.
This is known as inflammation. While this may be a good thing that helps the body recover quickly if it persists for a long time because of repeated exposure to stress, the body remains in a state of chronic inflammation which also causes fats and platelets to build up in the blood vessels and narrow them.
Narrowing of blood vessels from spasms, accumulation of plaque, and blood clots make it difficult for blood to flow to vital organs such as the heart, kidneys and brain. This leads to serious cardiovascular diseases like strokes, heart attack, kidney failure etc.
How we help at Viedial
Understanding the relationship between stress and your cardiovascular health is very personal. It requires knowing how to cope with stress and taking action to reduce stress. It also requires monitoring your blood pressure, blood sugar, and other key biomarkers regularly. Viedial provides personalized education and coaching to enable you reduce stress during stressful moments of your life. At the same time, Viedial provides a platform to record and track how your blood pressure, blood sugar and other biomarkers are changing with time. This will help you understand how your body is responding to stress. This knowledge empowers you to make healthy choices every day to reduce stress and live a healthier life.
