Women more Affected by Heart Disease caused by Stress
Stress is good for none; it can really harm your heart. When stress causes heart diseases, women are more prone to having them than men; says a new study.
The study found that women with heart disease experience more serious complications when put under stress. People with heart disease experience decreased blood flow to the heart. This condition is known as myocardial ischemia and can damage the heart muscle by reducing its ability to pump blood efficiently.
When exposed to stress, more women indicated early signs of blood clots forming. This process is known as “increased platelet aggregation.” These blood clots can block the person’s arteries and cause a heart attack.
Heart diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide and they affect more men than women in general. However, from the age of 50, the chances of developing a heart condition are similar for men and women.
Some previous research has also linked stress with heart conditions because it encourages unhealthy habits like smoking, drinking, and overeating. All these are known causes for heart diseases. Stress can also increase the body's levels of stress hormones.
When a person is stressed, their body’s levels of stress hormones also increase which raise the blood pressure and heart rate. This can eventually lead to heart disease as the heart has to work harder ti pump more blood around the body.
This particular study discovered that stress may also change the way blood clots form and eventually lead to heart disease and heart attacks.
Dr Zainab Samad, of Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina, in the U.S., said that doctors should take into account the fact that women are affected by stress more than men when treating patients with heart disease.
She said: 'The relationship between mental stress and cardiovascular disease is well known. 'This study revealed that mental stress affects the cardiovascular health of men and women differently. 'We need to recognise this difference when evaluating and treating patients for cardiovascular disease.'
The study examined 56 women and 254 men diagnosed with heart disease enrolled in a larger REMIT study on the impact of the drug escitalopram on heart disease brought on by mental stress and was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Source: Daily Mail
Image: Getty
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Source: Onlymyhealth editorial team Oct 14, 2014
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