Stress and death

Studies have suggested that psychological stress can be harmful for people with heart disease, but new findings indicate that it may actually triple the risk of death. Researchers at the University of Florida in Gainesville tested 196 patients who had coronary artery disease and who suffered from exertional ischaemia (reduced flow during exercise in the blood vessels of the heart). All these patients had over 50 per cent narrowing in at least one major coronary artery or had earlier suffered a heart attack. They took an exercise stress test and then were given a psychological stress test in which they were asked to speak for 5 minutes before a group of people. In 20 per cent of the patients, abnormalities in the heart's pumping ability were detected during the psychological test. The patients were then followed for three to five years. A total of 17 people died during the study period. The findings indicated that people who experienced the condition known as 'ischaemia' while under psychological stress were three times more likely to die by the end of the study period than those whose hearts were not so susceptible to stress. This study was the largest to date to investigate the relationship between stress response and mortality in heart patients. However the mechanism behind this was not clear, although stress does cause heart (coronary) arteries to constrict thereby reduce blood flow and oxygen supply to the heart. Also stress puts a heavier burden on the heart by increasing the heart rate and blood pressure. It is impossible to remove all stress from our lives but we can certainly try to reduce it thereby also the risk of heart disease.