Imagine constantly having to deal with high risk factors. According to Dr. Nishith Chandra, Principal Director of Interventional Cardiology at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute in New Delhi, that is what persistent stress accomplishes.
The actor Shreyas Talpade overworked himself for 28 years, putting in enormous hours at the office and never checking himself into the hospital. Despite having heart disease in his family history and risk factors such as high cholesterol, he never slowed down. Based on his most recent Instagram post, that’s what finally led to his heart attack. We don’t give ourselves or our families enough credit. He wrote, “We think we have time,” highlighting the negative effects of work-related stress.
IMPACT OF STRESS AND OVEREXERTION ON THE HEART
In today’s competitive environment, no one can ignore stress of any kind and the pressure to live up to expectations. What is your coping strategy and how are you handling it, is the query. Stress is a natural part of life, according to Dr. Nishith Chandra, Principal Director of Interventional Cardiology at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute in New Delhi. It has an innate ability to react in a fight-or-flight manner in emergency or crisis situations. We get goosebumps and fast heartbeats. But as the moment goes by, they disappear. However, this system might cause harm if it is continuously activated. Acute stress gradually transforms into chronic stress.
A study conducted in 2021 revealed that chronic stress was associated with cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes in around 5.8% of test volunteers who were followed for 11.2 years. Whether they had other risk factors such as hypertension, smoking, obesity, diabetes, or physical inactivity, the chance of these occurrences increased by ninety percent with a doubling of cortisol levels in their urine tests. The study discovered that younger participants showed a greater association between two hormones, cortisol and dopamine, and hypertension than did those 60 years of age and above.
WAYS TO MONITOR STRESS?
Stress is an inherent component of a world where deadlines are crucial. Consequently, according to Dr. Chandra, “any 30-year-old should get an annual check-up done, particularly post-COVID, when the heart attack risk has clearly gone up. While those with a family history and cardiomyopathy need to be vigilant from their 20s.” Simply perform the annual blood sugar, cholesterol, and echocardiography tests, as well as the treadmill and ECG. In order to address and monitor any warning signals, he even recommends routine GP checkups before seeing a cardiologist.
HOW TO SIMMER DOWN STRESS
“The majority of my patients report that they lack personal time. People need to understand that health comes first, and that work and the anxieties and competition they bring are just one factor. Maintaining the job would be more difficult without it, according to Dr. Chandra.
He claims that simply 15 to 20 minutes a day of physical activity will prevent heart disease. “That doesn’t require you to be a gym rat.” While yoga, meditation, and leisure activities might help reduce mental stress, getting enough sleep is still possible. It takes time for the artery and blood vessel cells to mend and heal. Because heart attacks result from years of inadequate sleep lasting no longer than four or five hours, even a regular workout or working late can set off a heart attack,” says Dr. Chandra.
