subject: Psychological Anxiety Leads To Heart Disease [print this page] Due to the state of our country at this time, there are many people who are highly anxious. Some are worried about job security, others about whether they can pay the mortgage, some have medical and financial worries. Unfortunately, many people may not be aware how stress and anxiety could be damaging their heart. Indeed, anxiety and stress can lead to serious health problems.
Several recent studies have found a link between anxiety and heart disease. Although it is a fairly recent change in thinking in mainstream medicine allowing that the mind affects the state of the body and its health, this is something that the general population has accepted as fact for centuries.
Findings in several studies have now shown a significant increase in heart disease in those who suffer from generalized anxiety. The frequent fear that something bad will occur and an ongoing state of chronic anxiety can actually cause physical changes in the body that lead to heart disease. Although researches do not understand the exact workings of this link, it is now clear to medical scientists that it exists.
Studies have been reported in The Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Science Daily and The Journal of the American Heart Association. All have confirmed that ongoing anxiety affects heart health and can increase the risk of heart related problems including heart attacks. Studies used psychological tests that pin point areas of anxiety and show that there can be an increase in heart disease as high as forty percent.
Most studies have been conducted on men but one reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association studied the correlation between women with phobic anxieties and sudden cardiac death that results from a lethal rhythm disturbance in the heart.
Whether it is phobias or generalized anxiety, doctors now recognize that something should be done to alleviate the state of worry and lessen the risk for heart trouble. There are many ways to calm anxiety without medications. Yoga practitioners have long recognized the link between a healthy mind and a healthy body. Breathing techniques are one of the most effective ways to alleviate anxiety, working quickly when anxiety is at a peak. Yoga classes can help focus the mind, calm the breathing and provide physical well being.
In addition to Yoga, other stress and anxiety reduction techniques include getting some sort of physical exercise each day, learning to set aside negative thinking, taking up volunteer work to help someone else, etc.
If you decide to include one of these simple strategies in your life, you heart will thank you for it!
