The Effects Of Stress On Your Heart

Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay died of a heart attack Wednesday. The 64-year-old executive was at the centre of one of the largest corporate scandals in American history, but doctors aren’t convinced the stress of the dishonour caused his death.

The forensic pathologist that examined Lay’s body discovered that he had suffered a previous heart attack. Doctors agree that the stress of his conviction and the shame that surrounded it could’ve caused his death, but they also contend that because he suffered from coronary artery disease, he may have been overdue for another attack.

A spokeswoman for the American Heart Association said it’s important to remember that there are a number of other factors that contribute to heart disease, including genetics, age, and family history.

But stress can contribute to other risk factors, such as lack of physical activity and poor eating habits.

“Do they just have more stress and the stress causes them to do stuff that is more unhealthy … or is it the stress directly causing the problem?” asked Dr. Chip Lavie, a cardiologist at the Ochsner Health System in New Orleans.

“The classic is a person who has a big fight with their spouse and then has a heart attack. Now that person has bad artery disease and the fight with the spouse didn’t cause the bad artery disease.”

Those daily pressures that pop up in your personal or professional life, or even on the road to the office, can also raise your blood pressure and can contribute to blood clots.

A study conducted at Quebec’s Laval University showed that job stress was linked to heart disease, but only to people working in low-status jobs.

“I just say deadlines are the most stressful or just having a lot of work to do in a short amount of time,” researcher Suzanne Kiani said.

Researchers in Britain came to a similar conclusion and found that executives don’t suffer the same negative heath effects on the job as their employees who must follow their orders.

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Here are some tips on managing stress, courtesy of the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation and WebMD.com:

Hobbies: Find the time every day or a few times a week to do something you love, something that nourishes your soul, whether it be photography, learning to paint or draw, gardening, reading or writing in your journal.

Volunteer Work: Helping others helps to take your mind off your own worries and helping someone else also feels great.

Vacations: Taking a break, for a weekend or a few weeks, may be refreshing, but be careful. Vacations can be stressful if they are poorly planned, too expensive for your budget or if you are under constant pressure to make decisions about where to travel, eat and stay. Plan ahead and don’t try to pack too much into the time available.

Get Back To Nature: We are lucky to live in a country with open spaces and many municipal, provincial and national parks. If you live in the city – walk in your local park, smell the flowers, enjoy the trees and the birds – try to get away from the noise of the city occasionally.

Here are some other healthy ways to cope with stress:

• Listening to music 
• Playing with a pet 
• Laughing or crying 
• Going out with a friend (shopping, movie, dining) 
• Taking a bath or shower 
• Praying or going to church 
• Discussing situations with a spouse or close friend 
• Practicing deep breathing, meditation, or muscle relaxation

For more information on heart disease, click here.