REDFEB highlights the impacts of chronic stress on the heart

February is Heart Research Australia’s heart disease awareness month, REDFEB, and the effects of chronic stress is one area it’s raising awareness about this year. “Most people think of stress as emotional or mental, but the heart feels it too,” Heart Research Australia CEO Nicci Dent said.

“We’ve normalised being wired and tired — but living in stress mode is like leaving your car engine running all night. The cost-of-living squeeze means many Australians feel like every day is a crisis — and our hearts are paying the price.”

According to Heart Research Australia, recent national data shows that almost 50% of Australians say financial worries are the biggest factor affecting their wellbeing, while more than a third of workers report feeling burnt out every week. And the impacts of stress can harm the heart suddenly or slowly over time, cardiologist Dr Avedis Ekmejian said.

“A sudden surge of stress hormones — like an angry outburst or a major shock — can trigger a serious cardiac event, such as a heart attack due to a blocked artery, or sometimes even stress cardiomyopathy or ‘broken heart syndrome’, where the heart muscle temporarily weakens,” Ekmejian explained.

“The slow grind of chronic stress also has adverse effects on the heart. As you would expect, if we are constantly exposed to stress without any recovery periods, this will result in blood pressure issues, and modifies our metabolism, increasing cholesterol and sugar levels. This can increase the incidence of coronary disease, among other cardiac conditions.”

Ekmejian added: “Our stress system is meant to spike and then return to baseline — when it never resets, that’s when the risks build up silently.”

Stress also has impacts on the brain, as clinical neuropsychologist Dr Miranda Say explains.

“Stress itself is not a bad thing — it’s critical for our safety and wellbeing,” Say said. “The real danger is when stress never switches off. When stress hormones surge, the brain switches into survival mode. When this is chronic, people end up groggy in the morning, restless at night, and stuck in a constant state of tension. We might notice that we snap, lose focus or are making poor decisions. This is a sign that the body isn’t returning to baseline.”

As per one of the messages of this year’s REDFEB, Dent said: “Your heart listens to your lifestyle,” adding, “This REDFEB is about small, joyful habits to help your body return to baseline — from cooking a healthy meal to walking with a friend.

“You can’t always control the cost of living or your workload, but you can control how your body navigates back to baseline. Most importantly, REDFEB is about wearing red, raising awareness, and funding vital, life-saving research — so more families can be spared the devastation of heart disease.”

More information on REDFEB is available here.

Image credit: iStock.com/DjelicS