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Stress and Your Heart
A recent study seeks to confirm what conventional wisdom has told us for a long time. If you often find yourself stressed out, easily bothered, or experience disturbances in your sleep or appetite, you may be at higher risk for heart disease. The study utilized data from population-based studies and involved a total of 10,943 people. They measured “mental vulnerability” by a questionnaire with items that measured the presence of symptoms such as hands that shake easily, feeling misunderstood, trouble sleeping, loss of appetite and bothersome thoughts. The researcher pointed out the way in which these symptoms line up with an overall description of stress. When I read about the symptoms, it made me think of a person who is generally anxious or “high strung.” People who scored high on the questionnaire, upon follow-up fifteen years later, were more likely to have cardiac disease. Women tended to score higher than men.
More and more studies are showing the link between the way we deal with stress and our physical health. This is another one of those studies that clearly shows the link between the mind, body and spirit. We must tend to all three as each is interconnected with the other. We need to find ways to deal effectively with the stressors we encounter before it leads to physical manifestations.
Click here to read more about the study.
