Stress and Heart Disease

Listen to Your Heart.

The current century is the century in which we have made maximum progress. This era is characterized by rapid growth and development. However this has brought with itself some serious problems like unhealthy lifestyles, improper and unhealthy food habits, change in the attitudes of the people and most of all it has led to people being prone to a life that has become over-burdened with work pressures. Such work profiles have subjected individuals to constant stress and mental tension which are responsible for several health problems.

How is Stress related to Heart Diseases?

Constant stress can have grave effects on the body and mind of an individual. Stress can undermine the physical health of an individual to a great extent. Generally, people do not consider the problem of stress very seriously and ignore it. But researchers believe that stress is closely linked to heart diseases and other physical ailments.

When a person is under physical stress his breathing and his pulse increases. The body provides for extra glucose to flow into to the blood to provide more energy to muscles. But if there is constant stress over a long period of time then diseases like cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, anxiety and depression can develop.

Stress can be as damaging as smoking and high cholesterol levels. Greater stress levels develope metabolic syndromes. Chronic job stress is a major factor of heart diseases. Another relationship between "job strain" and coronary disease is a rise in levels of blood pressure, possibly due to increase in catecholamine and cortical, increased autonomic nervous system activity (for example, increased pulse rate) and increased mass of the left ventricle.

Ways to control Stress:

Stress levels can be reduced by having a healthy lifestyle. This can be achieved by having a good and organized plan for the day, having a good time-management strategy and changing your work profile. Also it is very important to have a healthy diet along with regular exercises. Time management is an important tool in reducing stress levels.

Conclusion:

Thus it is very important to lead a stress-free life. Though it may be difficult to completely do away with stress, it is vital that stress levels are under control. After all is it not important to listen to your heart!