Stress and Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease is a global health problem increasing in prevalence. Although there is a clear genetic component to cardiovascular disease, many environmental factors may also impact cardiovascular risk, including diet, physical activity, smoking habits, psychological stress levels, and pollution exposure. These factors vary globally and may contribute to worldwide cardiovascular risk differences. Other globally variant factors that are likely to affect cardiovascular risk are healthcare access and emphasis. It has long been suggested that psychosocial factors play an important role in the development of atherosclerosis, as well as in the acute onset of cardiovascular events, for example, angina pectoris and myocardial infarction. Though Emotional stress is related to heart disease, how we respond to the stress is extremely important in determining how much risk the stress we experience every day imposes on our heart. Certain kinds of emotional stress in a certain kind of person can accelerate the development of chrome heart disease, or can precipitate an acute cardiac crisis. Nobody can avoid all forms of emotional stress, but if we think we may be at risk of stress-related heart disease, we ought to consider taking steps to control both our response to stress, and any other cardiac risk factors we may have.