How much does stress affect heart health and cholesterol levels?
Question:
what i'm confused about is that my grandmom has never had high pressure and always had a good diet. she rarely ate high cholesterol foods, and i don't think anyone in her family had heart problems. she did however have chronic stress and anxiety so i was wondering to what degree stress impacts heart health? she had good cholesterol, but then why are her arteries clogged 90%?
thank u
Answers:
Recent studies have pointed to the role that stress plays in increasing cardiovascular inflammation, which in turn is a critical player in cardiovascular disease. Inflammation seems to provide the "glue" that everything else uses to stick to blood vessels.
From an evolutionary perspective this makes some sense. Back in the day, the kind of thing that would stress you out would be a life and death situation, like a lion chasing your butt. In these cases, your body would prepare you to deal with the potential impending butt-biting by flooding your system with chemicals designed to cause blood clotting, etc. Unfortunately, these days stress comes from more benign sources, like paying bills or having a nagging spouse, but the body's reaction to stress remains the same.
The outcome from heart surgery is very good, and generally the doctors have used the patients overall health to make that determination. Hopefully she has had a second opinion to make sure that there isn't a less invasive alternative.
Stress is like the tension in the strings of a violin. Too little, and the violin wont make music. Too much and the strings will snap.
However, if the surgeons are optimistic about the outcome of the operation, then there is no reason to be afraid. A good cardiac specialist will tell you if an operation is unavoidable, or if medical management is the answer.
I am 72 tears old and have recently had an angiogram where the results prompted the doctors to say that given my age and the condition of my heart, an operation would be too risky. So I have to be on medical management for the rest of my life.
Hypnotherapy is a wonderful way to relax, reduce stress and to get better quality sleep with no side effects.
You can visit a Hypnotherapist for a one to one session or get a self help CD (or download)
The benefits can be amazing.
Good luck.
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