Guide To Heart Disease Prevention

Manage Stress

Finding healthy ways to avoid and manage stress is a critical factor in the prevention of heart disease. When an individual becomes stressed, their body releases a surge of hormones as a reaction to prepare the organs and tissues for fight or flight. These stress hormones increase their blood pressure and heart rate to push blood to the organs and muscles more efficiently. These hormones also pull glucose back into the bloodstream and cause it to stay in the bloodstream as a source of immediate and available energy for the organ and muscle cells. This fight or flight response works well for situations that warrant it. However, individuals who encounter stressful situations frequently or are chronically stressed become oversensitive to situations, causing the activation of the stress response when it wouldn't usually be activated. This oversensitivity causes them to have a stress response more often, leading to chronic high blood pressure and high blood sugar. An individual who learns how to cope with stress in a healthy way and avoids stressful situations can help prevent heart disease.