Women, Cardiovascular Disease, and Stress
I will offer to you about relation between Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) and Stress for women based on the book that I read. [You can find information of the book in the bottom of this post].
Stress is trying to be everything to everyone. When work is demanding longer hours and the family is “asking” for you to attend basketball games, take the kids somewhere, or just engage and join them for dinner without making phone calls, it is hard to be fully attentive. A few years back, I thought I was having a stroke, and now I’m on medication for hypertension and cholesterol. Given my family history and the pace I work at, I am predisposed to cardiac problems.
Since 1900, in every year except 1918, CVD accounted for more deaths than any other single cause or group of causes of death in the United States. Data show that CVD is the underlying cause in 36.3 percent of all 2,398,000 deaths in 2004, or 1 of every 2.8 deaths in the United States. Nearly 2,400 Americans die of CVD each day, an average of 1 death every thirty-sic seconds. CVD claims more lives each year than cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, accidents, and diabetes combined. According to the American Heart Association, CVD is the largest single cause of death among women worldwide, accounting for more than one-third disease in women as a global health issue and the need for prevention.
Today’s women, juggling family, work, self, and other activities, are under pressures unlike those of previous generations. In the following account, one woman gives her opinion on stress and heart problems.
Stress is trying to be everything to everyone. When work is demanding longer hours and the family is “asking” for you to attend basketball games, take the kids somewhere, or just engage and join them for dinner without making phone calls, it is hard to be fully attentive. A few years back, I thought I was having a stroke, and now I’m on medication for hypertension and cholesterol. Given my family history and the pace I work at, I am predisposed to cardiac problems.
It is no coincidence that we are noticing a clear increase in daily stress at the same time that our society is experiencing an epidemic of cardiovascular disease, especially in women. According to the American Heart Association’s 2007 update, cardiovascular disease (CVD) includes:
- High blood pressure, or hypertension: an elevation in the force of blood pumping through your arteries, making the heart have to work harder than it should.
- Coronary heart disease: the hardening or clogging of coronary arteries.
- Myocardial infarction (or heart attack): the temporary interruption of blood flow to the heart muscle itself.
- Angina pectoris: chest pain caused by coronary heart disease.
- Heart failure: any structural or functional problem with the heart that prevents it from pumping blood properly.
Since 1900, in every year except 1918, CVD accounted for more deaths than any other single cause or group of causes of death in the United States. Data show that CVD is the underlying cause in 36.3 percent of all 2,398,000 deaths in 2004, or 1 of every 2.8 deaths in the United States. Nearly 2,400 Americans die of CVD each day, an average of 1 death every thirty-sic seconds. CVD claims more lives each year than cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, accidents, and diabetes combined. According to the American Heart Association, CVD is the largest single cause of death among women worldwide, accounting for more than one-third disease in women as a global health issue and the need for prevention.
Today, most Americans are aware of the causes of heart disease and the concept of prevention, but this was not always the case. In 1948, the Framingham Heart Study -- under the direction of the National Heart Institute (now known as the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - embarked on an ambitious project in health research. At the time, little was known about the general causes of heart disease and stroke, but the death rates for CVD had been increasing steadily since the beginning of the century, and it had become an American epidemic. The objective of the Framingham Heart Study was to identify the common factors or characteristics that contribute to CVD by following its development over a long period of time in a large group of participants who had not yet developed overt symptoms of CVD or suffered a heart attack or a stroke.
Over the years, careful monitoring of the Framingham Study population has led to the identification of the main CVD risk factors -- high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, smoking, obesity, diabetes, and physical inactivity. The study has also provided a great deal of valuable information of the effects of related factors, such as blood triglyceride and LDL cholesterol levels, age, gender, and psychosocial issues, including stress.
Here is what we know today about the connections among stress, health, and the heart. The heart and the blood vessels are particularly sensitive to acute and chronic stress. With every beat, the heart not only pumps blood, but it also transmits complex patterns of neurological hormonal, pressure, and electromagnetic information to the brain and throughout the body. The heart is uniquely positioned as a powerful communication hub that connects the body, the mind, the emotions, and the spirit. Research suggests that a n elaborate feedback network of hormones, chemicals, and nerves exists connection the heart and the brain's centers of thoughts and emotions. Dr. Candace Pert describes this phenomenon and process in her book The Body Is The Subconscious Mind. It was in her laboratory at the National Institutes of Health that the naturally produced, powerful "informational substances" known as endorphins were discovered and biochemically defined. Her pioneering research laid the groundwork for our understanding of how the heart sends the brain messages that affect our perceptions, our mental processing, and our feelings. It's no surprise, then, that there is a strong connection between stress and cardiovascular disease.
In a 2008 Journal of the American College of Cardiology article, Dr. Joel Dinsdale, a cardiologist and researcher at the University of California in San Diego, published the first meta-analysis of the literature on psychological stress and cardiovascular disease. His review documented overwhelming evidence that stressors contribute to sudden death, myocardial infarction, angina, and heart wall motion abnormalities, as well as alterations in the regulation of the heart by the sympathetic nervous system. Disdale differentiated studies investigating the effects of acute stress (lasting one week or less, such as earthquakes and other natural disasters) from studies of chronic stressors (severe continuing adverse stressors, such as wartime), as well as chronic low-level aggravations (hassles). He noted that the distinctions were at times somewhat arbitrary, According to Dinsdale, "The stressor may last an instant (public criticism by a boss), but the patient may continue brooding about the humiliation for weeks or longer."
What we learned is that stress -- whether acute or chronic - can lead to CVD via a number of different pathways:
(Source: Scott, C. J. Optimal Stress - living in your best stress zone. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010.)
Over the years, careful monitoring of the Framingham Study population has led to the identification of the main CVD risk factors -- high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, smoking, obesity, diabetes, and physical inactivity. The study has also provided a great deal of valuable information of the effects of related factors, such as blood triglyceride and LDL cholesterol levels, age, gender, and psychosocial issues, including stress.
Here is what we know today about the connections among stress, health, and the heart. The heart and the blood vessels are particularly sensitive to acute and chronic stress. With every beat, the heart not only pumps blood, but it also transmits complex patterns of neurological hormonal, pressure, and electromagnetic information to the brain and throughout the body. The heart is uniquely positioned as a powerful communication hub that connects the body, the mind, the emotions, and the spirit. Research suggests that a n elaborate feedback network of hormones, chemicals, and nerves exists connection the heart and the brain's centers of thoughts and emotions. Dr. Candace Pert describes this phenomenon and process in her book The Body Is The Subconscious Mind. It was in her laboratory at the National Institutes of Health that the naturally produced, powerful "informational substances" known as endorphins were discovered and biochemically defined. Her pioneering research laid the groundwork for our understanding of how the heart sends the brain messages that affect our perceptions, our mental processing, and our feelings. It's no surprise, then, that there is a strong connection between stress and cardiovascular disease.
In a 2008 Journal of the American College of Cardiology article, Dr. Joel Dinsdale, a cardiologist and researcher at the University of California in San Diego, published the first meta-analysis of the literature on psychological stress and cardiovascular disease. His review documented overwhelming evidence that stressors contribute to sudden death, myocardial infarction, angina, and heart wall motion abnormalities, as well as alterations in the regulation of the heart by the sympathetic nervous system. Disdale differentiated studies investigating the effects of acute stress (lasting one week or less, such as earthquakes and other natural disasters) from studies of chronic stressors (severe continuing adverse stressors, such as wartime), as well as chronic low-level aggravations (hassles). He noted that the distinctions were at times somewhat arbitrary, According to Dinsdale, "The stressor may last an instant (public criticism by a boss), but the patient may continue brooding about the humiliation for weeks or longer."
What we learned is that stress -- whether acute or chronic - can lead to CVD via a number of different pathways:
- Type A behavior pattern (hostility and anger are lethal elements).
- Too much adrenaline and cortisol lead to high blood pressure and cause the blood vessels supplying the heart to spasm.
- Adrenaline has a direct effect on the heart in times of acute emotional stress, potentially causing sudden heart failure (Takotsubo cardiomyopathy).
- An acceleration of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) leads to coronary heart disease and heart attacks.
- An increase of fibrinogen, a blood protein that causes thickening or clotting of the blood, adds to the likelihood of suffering a heart attack.
- An abnormal metabolism (the ongoing chemical reactions in the body that are necessary for life) is created, which includes elevation of cholesterol, insulin resistance (diabetes), and obesity.
- Irritation of the heart muscle leads to irregular heart rhythms (ventricular fibrillation), which cause sudden death in the setting of acute emotional stress.
(Source: Scott, C. J. Optimal Stress - living in your best stress zone. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010.)
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