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Stress has effects which are heart-related more
prominently than cholesterol. It increases blood pressure, affecting the
arteries. Even mild stress increases levels of the amino acid homocysteine
in the blood, which is a major factor leading to heart disease. Stress
even influences how well we respond to medicine when we have heart disease
already. Heart attacks, high blood pressure, heart palpitations and stroke
may be cardiovascular conditions related to stress emphasizing the close
association between stress and heart disease. For more information on
stress and heart disease, read Automatic
Stressors.
Physical stress places measurable demands
on our heart. The physical stress is sometimes admitted to be good. As the
lack of physical stress is a major factor resulting in coronary artery
disease. Hence, physical stress is generally considered to be beneficial
for the heart, if the heart is normal. When people refer to stress causing
heart disease, they are talking about emotional stress. Everyone has an
idea that emotional stress, if it is severe or chronic, is bad. We know
that this kind of stress can lead to heart disease.
If chronically
stressed, you are more likely to over react to little annoyances, become
depressed (depression itself is a risk factor for heart disease), forget
things or imagine negative things to happen to yourself. To eliminate
stress completely from your life is not possible. But, if we implement
certain stress management techniques we can subdue the harmful effects.
Stress management tools include regular exercise, a healthy diet and
taking out time for gradual relaxation.
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