Can anxiety cause a heart attack?
You might not know this, but anxiety can cause a heart attack. Yes, you read that right – it’s true! It is estimated that up to 40% of people who have an anxiety disorder will experience chest pain at some point in their lives. The fear of experiencing any kind of physical symptoms leads many sufferers to avoid the doctor and put off treatment for their condition. This article will go over five ways that anxiety can lead to a heart attack and how you should deal with them if they happen.
Mental health is a critical component of heart wellness. Stress and other negative thoughts can contribute to high glucose, adrenaline, cortisol levels that could harm your body over time. If you’re experiencing unhealthy coping mechanisms like smoking or eating fatty foods, it’s essential to get some assistance from mental healthcare providers so we can ensure our hearts are healthy too!
Anxiety and heart diseases interlink-
Anxiety has an intrinsic link with heart diseases, and it’s not surprising that people who suffer from chronic anxiety are at a greater risk of developing heart problems. In fact, Harvard Health Publishing points out that those with such disorders can change their body’s stress response mechanisms or what is more popularly known as fight or flight response which affects blood pressure levels and cortisol production; additionally, these changes in the body increase one’s likelihood for arrhythmias (heart rhythm disorder) and acute coronary syndrome.
Symptoms of heart attack due to anxiety-
One of the significant ways anxiety can lead to a heart attack is by causing chest pain. This type of physical symptom is known as angina, and it often comes with a feeling of pressure, tightness, or squeezing in the center of your chest. If you have any signs or symptoms that make you think this could be happening – like sharp pains, burning sensation, shortness of breath, or nausea – then don’t wait!
Go straight to the emergency room for treatment because if left untreated, there’s up to an 80% chance this will progress into full-blown cardiac arrest where your heart stops beating altogether. Many people who experience these types of symptoms assume they’re just having panic attacks and do not take them seriously enough.
The symptoms of a panic attack often mimic those of heart attacks, but there are ways to tell the difference. Pay attention if you’ve experienced chest pain or pressure, shooting and aching pains that travel down your arm, discomfort between your shoulder blades, or in the jaw area accompanied by vomiting. If these happen while suffering from anxiety, call 911 immediately!
As an individual, it is essential to be aware of your heart attack risk factors. One such thing would be if you are a smoker and have high blood pressure or family history; these can indicate that you may suffer from a heart attack in the future.
On the other hand, chronic stressors like recent traumatic events or trouble coping with life’s ups and downs might lead to anxiety which shares many symptoms with experiencing an actual cardiac arrest. This could worsen their distress because they will believe this situation is happening again when really there isn’t one going on at all!
Ways to reduce anxiety to prevent heart attack-
Exercising can help to counter the harmful effects of stress. Exercise has been shown to lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol levels and reduce heart rates in people who are under high amounts of stress. There’s also evidence that exercise helps depression too – a risk factor for cardiovascular disease- so be sure you’re getting out there every day!
We all need someone or something to rely on in our lives. Your support system can provide you with a sense of security, comfort, and confidence no matter what is going on around us. A strong network like being married, having friends that are always there for you, or even just belonging to organisations that make your life more fulfilling, they have the power to reduce stress levels which will help keep heart disease at bay!
If this isn’t enough reason yet – consider how much easier it would be if we had people who could offer emotional and physical support when living with chronic illness such as diabetes? Remember: every person deserves their little piece of happiness, so please do not hesitate to reach out.
Researches and their opinions-
Research suggests that long-term anxiety or emotional stress can increase the risk for sudden cardiac death. To reduce your anxiety level, try activities like yoga and meditation to help release some of this tension from within you. It is essential to cut back on alcohol, tobacco products, and caffeine. However, these substances have been found in studies across many nations to be linked with increased feelings of overstimulation which may lead one into a downward spiral where they feel anxious all day every day, leading them up towards an eventual heart attack!
Research by European society of cardiology congress 2020-
New research presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2020 indicates that this link between anxiety and higher incidence or risks of heart attacks is not necessarily limited to adults. In fact, the study showed that men who suffered from depression or chronic anxiety in adolescence had a 20% higher chance than their peers by midlife – which could be due to more stressful environments, less access to mental health support services, lower socio-economic status among other factors.
This new information means we need better prevention programs for our youth so they can avoid permanent damage caused by stressors like poverty and inadequate public healthcare systems
Mental health issues in teenagers are a serious topic that can lead to heart disease and heart attacks later on in life. But if parents take the signs of depression or anxiety seriously, they’ll be able to diagnose it early enough for proper treatment, which will reduce these risks significantly.