The facts are puzzling: Many people who don’t smoke, don’t drink and who don’t have high blood pressure or cholesterol levels still suffer from heart attacks. These cases have led some scientists to believe that our emotions, behavior and moods can have a serious effect on our hearts.

The 2004 Interheart study, which examined nearly 30,000 subjects around the world, found that stress more than doubles the risk of heart attacks. Cardiology Professor Annika Rosengren, who conducted the stress research, discovered that “Persistent severe stress makes it two and a half times more likely that an individual will have a heart attack compared with someone who is not stressed.” Stress and depression together, she said, make a heart attack three times as likely.

And the reports keep coming. Researchers at Japan's Osaka University recently determined that happiness and laughter actually lower blood pressure, increase oxygen intake and improve circulation. A study at the University of Utah concluded that marital stress hardens the arteries just as severely as smoking, cholesterol and blood pressure. And a Yale University study found that increased stress hormones damage arterial walls, eventually causing blockage and increasing the risk of heart attacks.

This means that—in addition to healthy eating, exercising and losing weight—stress management should be added to the list of habits necessary for a healthy heart. Luckily, stress relief is arguably more enjoyable than dieting, jogging and eating vegetables, as long as you follow a few simple guidelines.

 

 

Recognizing Stress

Put simply, stress is how the body reacts to and protects itself from conflicts, both interior and exterior. These conflicts, often called “stressors,” can result from daily aggravations, life changes or complex relationships. Stressors may include:

• Deaths of friends, loved ones or pets
• Illnesses and physical changes, like pregnancy
• Issues at work
• Loss of employment
• Troubled relationships
• Moving

Though everyone experiences it differently, stress makes itself known in a number of ways, like:

• Fatigue, insomnia, weight fluctuations, tense muscles, dizziness and other physical reactions
• Depression, mood swings, lack of focus, anxiety and other mental reactions
• Excessive eating or drinking, bad attitudes, and general anti-social behavior tactics

Once you recognize the stress factors in your life, the next step is to reduce their impact by understanding, rethinking and reducing the impact of stress.

Reducing Stress

Our daily problems, no matter how simple, can seem overwhelming when we’re stressed. But this often results from our own attitudes and behavior, rather than from outside factors. For instance, in our workplaces we take on too many responsibilities and spread ourselves too thin. In our relationships we become unnecessarily absorbed in other people’s problems. And in our own minds we cling to negative thoughts about other people and, of course, ourselves.

Our inability to relax, both mentally and physically, leads us to adopt knee-jerk coping mechanisms—smoking, drinking, laziness, solitude, etc.—that only worsen the stress. Here are a few best “anti-stress” practices to limit these stress effects:

Respect Your Body: Caffeine, alcohol and smoking aggravate stress symptoms. Limiting (or eliminating) them is an effective first-step.

Don’t Forget to Breathe: Deep, regular breathing is a quick and effective way to calm the mind and improve blood circulation.

Maintain a Positive Attitude: A sunny outlook and strong self-esteem are powerful defenses against stress.

Laugh a Little: Believe it or not, watching a funny movie improves blood flow and reduces stress hormones.

Keep Moving: Daily exercise not only reduces stress hormones, it fights depression and reduces anxiety levels.

It may seem like a lot to remember, but just keep in mind that the best overall coping mechanism is letting go. Simply releasing negative thoughts and habits is the foundation for reducing stress and its harmful effect on our cardiac health.