Know anyone who has suffered a stroke or heart attack?
What was their life
generally like? Know of what they were going through, if anything?
Scientists have discovered that anger, anxiety, and depression affect the
functioning of the heart as well as increases the risk for heart disease.
Atherosclerosis is a process where blood vessels supply the heart and brain,
and strokes and heart attacks are caused by progressive damage to these
vessels. Atherosclerosis increases when there are high levels
pro-inflammatory cytokines or chemicals in the body.
Some scientists believe there is a link between atherosclerosis and stress
levels in the body. Ultimately, negative emotions are thought to increase the
risk for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease by raising the levels of
pro-inflammatory chemicals in the body. These scientists believe in a link
between negative emotions and stress because many of the same brain
areas involved in these emotions are also involved in sensing and regulating
levels of inflammation in the body and thus causing physical signs of risk
for heart disease.
Let’s find a way to decrease our stress through decreasing negative
emotions often experienced with unnecessary conflicts with others.
More information: The article is “An Inflammatory Pathway Links
Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk to Neural Activity Evoked by
the Cognitive Regulation of Emotion” by Peter J. Gianaros, Anna L.
Marsland, Dora C.-H. Kuan, Brittney L. Schirda, J. Richard Jennings, Lei K.
Sheu, Ahmad R. Hariri, James J. Gross, and Stephen B. Manuck, DOI:
10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.10.012
