How Are Heart Attacks Related to Stress?
Contrary to popular belief, there is not much connection between heart attack and emotional stress level. While it is indeed a good idea for people to reduce their stress in terms of physical and emotional levels, the incidence of having a massive heart attack right after an emotionally stressing situation is more of a myth. Stress is not considered to be a prime factor in heart attacks.
However, a certain quantity of physical stress, be it work or exercise relater, can be very beneficial to one’s cardiovascular health. This is because the more a muscle gets exerted, the stronger it actually becomes. A good amount of physical stress actually strengthens the muscles of the heart which decreases the chances of hear attacks and heart ailments.
But when a diseased heart gets overworked by undergoing too much physical exertion, it may arrive at a failure point. However, physical stress is not considered as responsible for the weakening of the heart muscles, or the aggravation of an existing heart condition.
On the other hand, emotional stress is usually believed as a potential risk factor for heart attacks. But the connection between these two matters is tenuous. At best, the consequences of emotional stress cause a person to resort to unhealthy lifestyle choices that can then lead to the increase in chances of heart attacks.
For instance, emotional stress can cause an individual to look for comfort by taking an unhealthy diet and accompanied by a sedentary lifestyle. Stress may lead people to do high risk behaviors like excessive gambling, cigarette smoking, and alcohol drinking. Although stress does not directly damage the heart tissues, the cumulative effects of these unhealthy food choices as well as the lack of exercise often leads to clogged arteries as well as poor conditioning of the cardiovascular system.
