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Stress can seriously endanger women after heart disease
Stress is a great physical and mental burden for us humans. Often physicians advise patients with heart disease that they should urgently avoid stress - apparently rightly so. Researchers now found that stress is particularly dangerous for younger women with past heart disease.
Researchers at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta found that stress poses a particular threat to women with past heart disease. Younger women seem to be more susceptible to the negative effects of stress on our heart. This can lead to a decreased blood flow of the heart. The experts published the results of their study in the journal "Journal of the American Heart Association".
Stress hurts our health. Stress seems to be particularly bad for women with past heart disease. In such women, stress reduces the blood flow of the heart. (Image: Kaspars Grinvalds / fotolia.com) Physicians examine stress and the blood flow to the heart
The researchers examined data from about 700 patients. These were all between the ages of 34 and 79 years. All subjects had previously suffered heart disease, say the doctors. Some of the participants suffered from angina pectoris (chest tightness) or had previously had a heart attack. The physicians analyzed the stress and the blood flow to the heart.
Women younger than 50 years have a reduced blood flow more often
During the study, the scientists found that women under the age of 50 have nearly four times more frequent reduced blood flow to the heart compared to men of the same age, explains the study director. Viola Vaccarino from Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health. Such reduced blood flow is also referred to medically as myocardial ischemia. The disease increases the likelihood of developing a heart attack, the experts add.
Younger women have worse blood circulation results after a heart attack
Younger women generally seem to be more prone to the effects of stress on the heart. Viola Vaccarino. Doctors have known for some time that younger women have poorer blood flow results after a heart attack. However, there has not yet been a complete explanation for this effect. The results of the new study could now provide more clarity, the researchers add.
Subjects must give a speech in front of an audience
The participants were asked in the investigation that they give a speech in front of audience. The topic of the speech was chosen by the scientists. The audience should by no means respond positively to the speech, explain the authors. This increased the stress for the speakers.
No differences noted in older women and men
Research before and after the speeches showed that in younger women, the blood flow to the heart was significantly reduced compared to men of the same age, says dr. Vaccarino. In women and men of higher age, these differences could not be determined.
One-third of women under 50 years old with reduced blood flow
The observed reduced blood flow occurred in one third of women under 50 years of age. Only eight percent of men in this age group suffered from the same problem. The new data clearly suggest that stress is a particularly important factor for women with heart disease Vaccarino. Stress could be an explanation for the increased risks of young women. However, other factors also have an impact, such as the severity of previous heart disease.
Many women under the age of 50 are routinely stressed out
Many women today try to reconcile work, family and financial responsibility. As a result, many women under the age of 50 are routinely stressed, the experts explain. Younger women and middle-aged women with heart disease should, according to the physicians, get additional support for coping with stress.
Stress also reduces blood flow in people without a heart attack
If women want to avoid heart disease, they should learn to cope better with their stress. The results of the study also show that the same pattern of stress and blood flow applies equally to people without a previous heart attack, Dr. Vaccarino. Certain exercises could simultaneously reduce the risk of depression, mental stress and heart disease. Carrying out such exercises could simultaneously protect the heart and mental health, adds Dr. Added Vaccarino. (As)