Why is it that stressful situations are more likely to cause heart attacks? What happens to our body for this to happen?
In: Biology
stressful situations trigger fight or flight response
fight or flight requires prepping the muscles in your arms & legs with oxygen rich blood (this also increases breathing rate)
your heart needs to pump faster to move oxygen rich blood through body (some of which is redirected from non-essentual processes like digestion)
[side note: this results in higher blood pressure & i’ve heard it might affect clotting but i dont think thats ever been confirmed???]
SO at this point the heart is working harder and can result in a few things. chronic stress can do things like thicken the heart walls which will make it harder to pump (kinda like how ppl with huge biceps and pecs have a hard time grabbing their opposite shoulder).
the high blood pressure is the usual trigger of heart attacks to my knowledge. mostly because if there are thick arterial walls due to plaque caused by things like high cholesteral they can block oxygen from getting to your heart and u need the oxygen to reach ALL parts of the heart for the heart walls to pump in sync. if oxygen is blocked for more than a few seconds to even a portion of the heart wall then the heart starts beating out of sync (aka arrhythmia) which then disrupts blood flow to…..everything.
stress causing high blood pressure often makes heart conditions worse – resulting in higher chances of heart failure
When something stresses the body out, it causes your body to release hormones to try to respond to that stress. This causes physical reactions like your heart starts beating faster and your veins get tighter to start getting blood moving faster so you can have more oxygen delivered to your legs so you can run from the situation. Or you start sweating, and your stomach gets upset (I really wish I knew what the advantage to that is).
Anyway, it makes your body run in a way it doesn’t usually run. Sort of like if a submarine goes too deep and the hull starts to crack from the pressure. But maybe the crew only needs to go that deep for a few minutes to escape their enemy and then they can bring the boat back up and repair the damage.
Well, if your body “goes too deep” for too long, or you already have a weaker system, that natural response can be too much for you. And cause things like heart attacks, which is when your heart just doesn’t beat at a regular rhythm.
Latest Answers