Psychological factors that Trigger Cardiovascular Disease
- Thursday, December 17, 2009, 6:35
- Health Care, Heart Support
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Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in the United States and is caused by various factors such as sedentary lifestyle, cigarette smoking, lack of exercise, elevated stress levels and intake of an inadequate diet. Heredity, age, hypertension, diabetes and hypercholesterolemia are also contributing factors for cardiovascular disease.
Many psychological factors such as stress, hostility, anger, depression and anxiety can also cause cardiovascular disease.
Psychological factors that cause cardiovascular disease:
Stress:
High stress levels can place immense strain on the heart and blood vessels over a prolonged period of time. When an individual is under extreme stress his/her blood vessels tend to constrict and blood pressure rises. Stress also causes the blood platelets to clog thereby, resulting in blockage of the blood vessels.
Anger and hostility:
As per research, individuals who have a hard-driving aggressive personality are at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Hostility, anger and cynicism are traits that increase the risk for heart disease. Individuals who tend to get angry very easily are 2-3 times more likely to suffer from a heart attack than their not so aggressive counterparts.
Suppressing psychological distress:
Individuals who always suppress negative emotions are also great candidates for cardiovascular disease. As per research, individuals who do not vent out their emotions and consistently hide psychological distress are more prone to heart disease than those who share their turmoil with others.
Such individuals are extremely pessimistic and unhappy and tend to suppress their emotions all the time. This can result in heart spasms and may cause platelets to clog.
Mild as well as severe depression can cause cardiovascular disease. Research tells us that individuals diagnosed with depression are at a 70% higher risk of heart attack and 60% higher risk of dying from it than those individuals who are not depressed.
Depression can result in irregular heart beat, causes the blood vessels to clot and severely damages them.
Research states that individuals suffering from anxiety disorders are also at an increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease and resultant death, particularly in the case of heart attacks. Acute anxiety can result in irregular heart beat, heart spasms and heart attacks.
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