Dr Anna Rolleston The Cardiac Clinic

Life is busy these days: There is always something that needs to be done, that should have been done by now or that will definitely need to be done tomorrow.

We often have very little time to sit back and smell the roses and even when we do our minds are full of information, ideas, arguments and problems that need solving. Rest and relaxation tend not be a regular part of every day life for many of us. Lack of rest, in combination with the consistent strains of life, even if these are only low level – leads to stress. Stress is a major cause of heart disease and can be a silent killer. We, as a human race, are so used to living under stress that often we don't even know that we are. Years of stress and perhaps other lifestyle misdemeanors can cause atherosclerosis development, heart disease and then a heart attack.
What is stress? Stress is an interesting phenomenon, as it is physical and emotional. From a physical point of view, stress is a chemical cascade of events. In the ideal world your stress response system was built to get you out of danger. We call this 'Fight or Flight”. Back in the cave man days, if you were in danger your adrenal glands released a large quantity of stress hormone that gave you the ability to either stand and fight against the danger or run away very, very quickly. We aren't hunted by wild animals these days, yet we still have a functional stress response system. On an emotional level, stress can be life controlling – with symptoms such as grumpiness, food cravings and mood swings.
Symptoms of stress
The most common symptom of stress is fatigue. No matter how much sleep you have, how much down time you give yourself, you are constantly tired. You may not feel stressed, but you are. Many people I see say that they manage the stress in their life well, however, if you live with a constant level of stress every day this will be your normal ‘way of being' and therefore in your mind – you are not stressed. Physiologically, however, the story is likely to be quite different with high blood pressure, poor recovery of your heart from exertion, consistently high levels of stress hormones in your blood, overworking of your cardiovascular system and subsequent development of heart disease.
Get checked
Even if you exercise regularly and eat a perfect diet – if you have constant levels of stress you are likely putting extra stress on your heart. Have you heard stories about people who have a heart attack yet were ‘fit and healthy' and from all accounts led an exemplary lifestyle in heart health terms? Is this you? Do you have a high stress job that you love and that you work hard at? Are you a mum who manages the schedule of the kids, your household as well as holding down a job? Are you tired for no apparent reason? Get your heart checked; stress is the silent killer.