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Chronic anxiety significantly increases the risk of heart attack or stroke

Chronic anxiety significantly increases the risk of heart attack or stroke

When we're under stress, our adrenal glands are activated, producing greater quantities of cortisol and adrenaline, which are responsible for an increase in heart rate and blood pressure. Women's hearts are even more sensitive to stress. They have numerous receptors for the stress hormones catecholamines in their arteries and heart muscle. Their coronary arteries are also thinner than men's, making them more vulnerable to stress-induced arterial spasm, with a consequent increased risk of cardiac accident. A healthy lifestyle helps combat signs of anxiety and limit the effects of stress on the heart: a balanced diet, low alcohol consumption, no smoking, a regular sleep pattern, 30 minutes of physical activity a day to increase the production of anti-stress hormones, breathing and relaxation exercises, yoga, sophrology, cardiac coherence... And don't forget to take time out during the day to relax, read, listen to music, watch a TV series, take a walk in the fresh air, etc.
When a woman shows signs of a heart attack, we think of an anxiety attack... Yet women are just as much affected as men by lifestyle-related risk factors, and at an increasingly young age: smoking, overweight and high cholesterol, stress, hypertension, rhythm disorders, sedentary lifestyle, precariousness, social isolation, mental workload at home and at work... The problem is that they are not sufficiently aware of these factors, nor do they listen to themselves. When they are affected, they tend to blame warning symptoms on exhaustion. They call too late, and are also treated by teams insufficiently trained in the specific female nature of these illnesses. This comprehensive article sums up the problem of cardiovascular disease in women and suggests solutions.

https://www.santemagazine.fr/sante/maladies/maladies-cardiovasculaires/comment-lanxiete-peut-impacter-notre-sante-cardiaque-918913

 
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