How Can Stress Cause Heart Blockage and Cardiomyopathy?

Researchers find chronic stress as risky as smoking for heart health!

Stress when short-lived might persuade you to achieve big goals because of the hormonal release, but chronic stress can be fatal.

Constant stress is linked with many circulatory and cardiovascular diseases including heart blockage.

A blockage in the heart is a condition where the heart fails to contract enough for pumping blood, causing abnormalities in the heartbeat.

While there could be many factors that cause heart blockage, the recent debate is over whether stress is a factor that contributes to heart disease risk.

In our analysis, we came to various contradictory explanations on the same. 

However, the exact detail comes from various studies and clinical evidence.

 

Can Stress Cause Heart Blockage?

Every other person in this world has a reason to stress on! Indeed stress is a normal part of life, but too much of it could be fatal for your heart in many ways.

When we are stressed, our body initiates the production of cortisol, a hormone responsible for increasing glucose and activating the anti-stress pathway.

However, chronic stress causes excess production of cortisol, leading to conditions responsible for many heart diseases:

• High Blood Sugar – High levels of sugar in the blood can cause damage to nerves and arteries. This raises the risk of heart diseases.
• High Blood Pressure – One of the most common causes of heart disease is high blood pressure. Too much stress can raise your blood pressure leading to a decrease in the elasticity of your arteries causing a decrease in blood flow and oxygen supply to the heart.

But other than these two conditions, the most prominent cause of stress-induced heart blockage is the release of:

1. Triglycerides – Excess production of triglycerides can cause hardening and thickening of the arteries supplying blood to the heart. This increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and blockage.

2. Cholesterol – Too much cholesterol in the blood causes accumulation of cholesterol on the walls of blood vessels, causing a condition called atherosclerosis. It is characterized by narrowing of the blood vessels reducing blood flow to the heart. Atherosclerosis is one of the key reasons behind heart blockage, further leading to a heart attack!

 

Stress and Atherosclerosis – How Does Stress Cause Plaque in Arteries?

According to researchers, chronic stress increases the risk of atherosclerosis.

This is because chronic stress can induce the formation of plaque in the arteries in many ways that can induce:

• Inflammation
• Lipid metabolism
• Endothelial function

And much more…

How Does Stress Cause Artery Blockage?

Following are just some of the ways through which stress can cause artery blockage:

#1. Chronic Stress Effects on Inflammation

One of the leading causes of atherosclerosis is inflammation, which leads to endothelial dysfunction. 

Chronic stress causes stimulation of the adrenal medulla, which causes the release of many inflammatory cytokines.

This increases the proinflammatory factors and cell adhesion molecules in the serum leading to rapid atherosclerosis.

#2. Stress and Lipid Metabolism

Chronic stress induces the release of cortisol that, in turn, causes excess production of cholesterol and triglycerides.

The excess of these two leads to accumulation on the arterial walls making them thicker and harder. 

#3. Effects on the Macrophages

According to studies, chronic stress causes an increase in the catecholamine-bound macrophages that initiate the expression of cytokines. 

These cytokines increase inflammation leading to atherosclerosis.

#4. Other Effects of Stress That Induce Atherosclerosis

Chronic stress can also induce transport of hematopoietic cells, increase emotional eating of sugars, and cause pathogen depression.

Moreover, excess sugars can cause more release of triglycerides causing atherosclerosis.

So, now as we know how physiological changes induced by stress can cause heart blockage, here’s what extra we found in the studies.

 

Studies on Stress and Heart Diseases

There are two notable studies that show evidence of the relationship between stress and heart blockage.

Study I – Effects of Stress on Cardiovascular Disease

This study was published in The Lancet observing the link between emotional stress and heart attack or other cardiovascular risks.

It mainly imaged a brain region that was affected during stress to make observations about changes in cardiovascular events with changes in this region.

A total of 30 participants were considered for the study who had no episode of cardiovascular disease or any cancer.

The following measures were observed:

• Amygdalar activity (the brain region)
• Bone marrow activity
• Arterial inflammation

A separate cross-sectional study measured the relationship between stress, arterial inflammation, the activity of the brain region, and C-reactive protein.

Results:

Individuals with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease showed an increase in atherosclerotic risks because of chronic stress.

Study II – Association between Stress-Related Disorders and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

It is a population-based, sibling-controlled cohort study based in Sweden.

The study observed 136,637 participants from the Swedish National Patient Register, suffering from stress-related disorders like:

• Adjustment disorder
• Post-traumatic stress

And other stress reactions.

The main measures used for observing the risk of cardiovascular diseases with stress-related disorders were primary diagnoses of heart diseases and 16 individual diagnoses of heart diseases.

Results:

According to the results, stress-related disorders were highly associated with multiple cardiovascular diseases independent of family history.

In all the cases, both the studies are indicative of a strong link between depression, anxiety, and heart disease.

However, these studies are not indicative of stress-causing heart blockage in particular. And, hence, there are wider possibilities of stress-causing heart attack or other health issues.

 

Can Stress Cause a Heart Attack without Blockage?

Stress never causes a direct heart attack. Rather, it creates medical conditions that finally lead to a heart attack.

Unarguably, one of the major reasons for stress-induced heart attack is an arterial blockage.

But there is also a cardiac event caused by chronic stress that resembles a heart attack but is not a heart attack in reality.

It is called stress cardiomyopathy or broken heart syndrome.

Stress Cardiomyopathy

Characterized by acute chest pain and breathlessness similar to a heart attack, stress cardiomyopathy is triggered by a stressful emotional event.

While the symptoms resemble a heart attack, it is a completely different cardiac event where the blood vessels are fine but the heart doesn’t contract.

This could cause insufficient blood pumping for over a month and even be fatal with similar mortality to typical heart attacks.

Though the exact causes of stress cardiomyopathy are not known, doctors described it as a post-traumatic incident.

The recent studies, however, are now recognizing the condition even in patients suffering from chronic stress.

People at a higher risk of stress cardiomyopathy or broken heart syndrome are:

• People aged between 58 and 75
• Women more than men

Till now, no specific treatment has been finalized for this condition. Most physicians prescribe the same medications as the typical heart attack.

However, heart blockage and stress cardiomyopathy are not the only two ways that stress can affect your heart.

There are many more effects of stress on the heart that we discuss in the following section.

 

What Heart Problems Does Stress Cause?

Stress induces many physiological changes in our body that can contribute to various heart problems.

Some of these physiological changes with harmful effects on the heart include:

#1. Blood Pressure Issues

Stress stimulates the nervous system to produce hormones that constrict the blood vessels. 

Constant stress hence induces an excessive release of these hormones, causing a repetitive rise in blood pressure.

Thus, stress doesn’t directly increase blood pressure but aids in its development gradually.

Some of the risk factors associated with stress-induced hypertension are:

• White coat hypertension
• Job strain
• Emotional distress

Effects of Hypertension on the Heart:

Hypertension is one of the most dreadful conditions that damage your body for a long duration before showing any symptoms.

The most dreadful outcomes of this hidden high blood pressure can be disability and even heart attack.

Effects of high blood pressure on your heart include:

1. Arterial Damage

Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by the normal flowing blood column on the walls of arteries and blood vessels.

When the pressure rises against these flexible, elastic, and smooth walls:

• Arteries become narrow – Because of high pressure, the endothelial lining can rupture and the cells become damaged. This exposes the bloodstream to an external environment consisting of several clotting factors. This can lead to clotting within the blood vessel, making it narrower. This reduces the blood flow to the heart.
• The arteries enlarge – Aneurysm is a common outcome of hypertension as the blood flowing through the damaged artery can cause a bulge. This could lead to internal bleeding.

2. Cardiovascular Effects

Can stress cause enlarged heart? 

Yes, it can, by increasing your blood pressure. Hypertension can cause:

• • Enlargement of heart – Forceful contraction of the ventricles could lead to thickening of the wall increasing the risk of heart attack and heart failure.
  • Diseases of arteries – High blood pressure causes narrowing of the arteries causing many coronary artery diseases.

• Makes the muscles weak and can result in heart failure.

Another physiological change induced by stress increasing your risk of heart disease is an increase in blood sugar level.

#2. Increase in Blood Sugar

Stress can have many effects on your metabolic pathways and the release of cortisol is one such pathway that it affects.

Cortisol is released from our body to activate the anti-stress pathway but one of its functions also includes increasing gluconeogenesis.

Many studies suggest that chronic stress can result in excessive sugar in your blood, worsening diabetes, and even showing bad effects on the heart.

According to researchers, high blood sugar can cause severe contraction of arteries because of an increase in a specific protein. This raises blood pressure along with having a severe effect on the heart.

High blood sugar during a heart attack can worsen the condition by causing severe contractions.

#3. Increase in Heart Rate

According to many studies, chronic stress can cause abnormalities in the heart rate because of atrial fibrillation.

This occurs because of a complex brain-heart interaction.

Stress affects the cortical regions, limbic system, basal ganglia, and medulla and activates the autonomic system stimulating sympathetic and parasympathetic pathways.

Together these two pathways are responsible for the various cardiovascular changes including arrhythmias or abnormal heart rate.

Hence, chronic stress influences not one but many factors that could ultimately result in various cardiovascular diseases.

The good news is we can prevent many such cardiovascular problems like artery blockage by adding just a few changes to our daily lifestyle.

RELATED: What can stress do to your body

 

How to Prevent Coronary Artery Blockage and Heart Disease?

The best way to prevent any coronary or heart disease is to eliminate the risk factors of heart disease from your life.

While certain factors like age are inevitable, there are other lifestyle factors that we can change and have full control over.

The best possible ways to manage stress in order to avoid heart problems include:

1. Stress management
2. Quit smoking
3. Get more active
4. Have a healthy diet
5. Regular health check-ups
6. Proper sleep
7. Avoid alcohol
8. Medications

#1. Managing Stress

Chronic stress is a high-risk factor that can even cause a sudden fatal attack of cardiomyopathy. Hence, managing stress becomes important in the initial days itself.

Choosing healthy strategies for stress management can be helpful in overcoming unhealthy lifestyle choices like smoking.

#2. Lifestyle Changes

The two most important lifestyle changes that you must make are:

• Quit smoking – Smoking is a major risk factor for many diseases, and heart disease is the most serious one of them. Cigarettes contain chemicals that can thicken your blood and form clots inside the arteries blocking them.
• Become more active – Add moderate exercises to your routine for a healthy heart. 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week is suggested. High-intensity workouts of 75 minutes a week are also healthy. 

#3. Diet

Often, people who take a diet rich in trans fat and saturated fats lie at a higher risk of heart diseases. 

Focus on fusing your platter with the goodness of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Add some fibers and keep the sugar and salt intake low.

You can add some of the following heart-protecting foods to your diet:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Nuts
• Whole grains
• Fish
• Poultry 
• Vegetable oils

#3. Regular Checkups

It is important to get regular checkups done to keep in check:

• Blood pressure
• Cholesterol level
• Blood sugar level

#4. Take Enough Sleep

Not taking enough sleep lands you at risk of developing high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes, which all contribute to heart diseases.

Usually, adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep in a day.

#5. Reduce Alcohol Intake

Stick to a healthy limit of alcohol intake:

• Not more than 14 units a week for men and women
• In case you are drinking 14 units a week, divide it into three days

Avoid binge drinking as it raises the risk of heart attacks.

#6. Medications for Coronary Heart Disease

In case you are already suffering from coronary heart disease, taking medications on time prevents heart attack and blockage of arteries.

 

Final Word

Stress is an inevitable part of life, but letting it persist and engulf your life is not a solution.

Earlier, people were only aware of stress-induced mental disorders like sleep apnea and depression.

But with advancement in the research sector, physicians have come to recognize several stress-induced heart diseases as well.

The most common pathways stress influences indirectly to affect your heart are raising blood pressure, causing artery blockage, and increasing your blood sugar levels.

All three together can multiply your risk of getting a heart attack to a severe extent. And hence, stress can cause heart blockage and increase the risk of other heart diseases.

Hence, even minor workload stress shouldn’t take the form of chronic stress if you don’t want your heart to faint.

Well, we certainly hope you found today’s blog useful and look forward to answering any queries you may have. Share your thoughts in the comments section and don’t forget to rate the blog before leaving!

 

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