Key signs stress is affecting your heart health

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Excessive stress is known to have a negative impact on one's heart health. Ignoring it can land you in trouble. Timely intervention is key to managing any heart problems and improving the quality of life. It is crucial to pay attention to the key signs that may indicate poor heart health and help in taking corrective steps.

Dr Sameer Pagad, senior consultant, cardiology, Global Hospitals, Parel, Mumbai lists down some key signs that indicate the poor health health caused due to stress.

Stress arises from personal or professional life. It can set in due to the inability to meet deadlines, facing financial loss, dealing with heartbreaks, or the death of a loved one.

Stress will not only lead to joint pain, infertility, abnormal blood sugar levels but even heart problems.

Here are some of signs to check

It is a known fact that stress causes high blood pressure, which can pose a risk of heart attack and stroke.

High stress impacts the heart and causes inflammation in the arteries, a risk factor for atherosclerosis/hardening of the arteries.

Excessive stress can also cause sudden chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations, sweating, fast heartbeats and dizziness.

Even nausea and vomiting are some of the symptoms of stress that one needs to watch out for.

For example, one having chronic worry may end up eating more, leading to weight gain. Hence, obesity may raise blood pressure and diabetes. Insufficient sleep due to high cortisol, a stress hormone, is also linked to high blood sugar and increased body weight. All these factors raise the risk of a heart attack, stroke or heart failure.

Further, irregular heart rate and rhythm, increased digestive problems, increased blood pressure, inflammation and reduced blood flow to the heart are some of the signs that are seen due to extreme stress. All these signs will mean that stress is causing trouble for your heart.

It is essential to de-stress by opting for counselling and adopting relaxation techniques such as yoga and meditation which will calm you down. Apart from managing stress, eat a well-balanced diet inclusive of all the vital nutrients, exercise daily and control your blood pressure and blood sugar levels to keep the heart healthy.