I remember watching an old movie not too long ago where one of the main characters was a classic “Type A” personality. Chances are that you know exactly what I mean – driven, aggressive, workaholic, eyes-popping, veins-bulging, and absolutely no doubt in anyone’s mind when they are displeased because they express it loudly with arms waving and papers flying. Type A’s make me exhausted just thinking about them!
In this particular movie, the character was a heart attack waiting to happen. You could see the not so subtle hints a mile away and viewers were not surprised when the character suddenly dropped to his knees, clutching his chest, in the middle of a pacing-the-floor, shaking-his-fist, and screaming-at-the-world scene. The character had just Type A’d himself into a massive heart attack. Now, I understand that this is fiction and Hollywood but had to wonder just how true to life this scene really was. Can our emotions and other psychosocial factors, particularly negative emotions and stress, really impact our heart to the point of actually causing a heart attack?
According to Harvard Medical School, psychosocial factors such as your individual personality, emotions or moods (depression, anxiety, and stress), positive or negative outlook on life, and even loneliness can impact your heart health both positively or negatively. Some studies put these psychosocial factors on the same level as high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol and smoking in terms of risk factors for heart disease. Stress, anxiety, depression and anger are quite serious when it comes to heart health.
Not all psychosocial factors affect your heart health in the same way. Some may cause a sudden heart attack while others lead to atherosclerosis which could result in lifelong heart risk and other heart problems. The relationship between the brain, mind and heart is intricately intertwined. The brain “talks” to the heart through chemical means which may lead to heart disease or heart attack. Conversely, the heart also talks to the brain and an unhealthy (or healthy) heart can influence your brain and mood in return. It’s important to keep a healthy balance between the two. So, which psychosocial factors are the most dangerous to our heart heath? Essentially, negative psychosocial factors are the major influences which may cause heart disease or sudden heart attack. These include:
• Depression: Leads to heart disease, affects outcome of stroke or heart surgery, symptoms will also impact heart health.
• Anger: Leads to higher instances of atherosclerosis, may trigger sudden heart attack.
• Anxiety: Severe form may trigger heart attack. (Note: Anxiety triggered heart attacks are frequently fatal.)
• Stress (Chronic): Leads to atherosclerosis, impacts recovery. (Note: Stress can be from a variety of sources, family, home, living conditions, work environment, money, etc.)
• Stress (Sudden): Also known as Broken Heart Syndrome, heart failure triggered by sudden emotional stress (death, crime victim, accident, etc.).
• Loneliness: Isolation from others impacts survivability after a heart attack.
Obviously, we can’t eliminate all of the negative psychosocial factors in our lives. We can’t control the death of a loved one or a car accident. Sometimes life just happens and we have to live through it until we come out on the other side. But, there are many things that we can do to help ourselves both emotionally and from the heart health perspective. Just as you would address other risk factors for heart disease such as high cholesterol or obesity, you should address any negative psychosocial factors which you may have as well so as to limit their impact in your life. For example, if you suffer from chronic depression or have depression symptoms, discuss with your doctors ways to control your depression and improve it. If you are socially isolated from others, seek ways to foster interaction and build a support network. If you are in a situation of chronic stress from work or another source, review your options and resources and take action to improve the situation. While we can’t change every situation overnight, you may be able to make progress which results in a healthier emotional stress and healthier heart.
Until next time, here’s wishing you a healthy heart.
Source:
Heart disease: It’s partly in your head, Harvard Health Publications, Harvard Medical School, http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Heart_disease_Its_partly_in_your_head.htm