Chronic stress a big problem for heart health

It's no surprise that work is often a major source of stress -- but many are surprised to hear how this affects heart health.

"It's been known for a long time that severe stress, like an earthquake or death, can provoke heart attacks," says Dr. David Law of Cardiovascular Consultants. "What's less clear is chronic stress, but it probably does play a role in cardiovascular disease by adversely affecting metabolic things," he says, explaining that stress raises cholesterol and blood pressure, heightens c-reactive protein levels and affects sleep patterns, all of which affect heart health.

"It all adds up and slowly erodes cardiac health," says Eileen Sievers, registered nurse, clinical exercise specialist and wellness instructor at Saint Francis Medical Center. Cindy Seyer, director of wellness services at Southeast Missouri Hospital, agrees. The biggest stressors are deadlines, saying "yes" too much and trying to combine work with home life, she says.

Sievers believes the downturn in the economcy has caused even more stress for workers.

"Having to do more with less is a stressor for employees and managers," she says. "They constantly feel that in order to be productive they have to do more with less time and fewer resources." This generates immediate feedback to health, she explains: Feelings of anxiety increase the heart rate, which leads to high blood pressure and a snowball of unhealthy habits.

"One of the biggest effects is that under stress, people do not make good choices in their everyday activities," says Sievers. They assume they don't have time to exercise, prepare healthy meals or keep up with preventive health visits, and they turn to "crutches" like cigarettes, says Sievers. Skipping meals, high cholesterol and blood pressure, lack of sleep and weight gain are interrelated in their effects on heart health. Eventually, employees get discouraged and give up on the entire idea of healthy lifestyle.

"The more stress there is, the worse the lifestyle behaviors become," says Sievers, noting that "there's definitely truth to the idea that stress drives the appetite toward sugary, fatty foods."

These habits eventually lead to serious problems: One in three Americans develop some form of cardiovascular disease in their lifetime, says Sievers, and it's often related to high blood pressure, cholesterol or glucose levels. The problem is, these underlying issues usually have no overt symptoms -- that's why it's crucial to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

"A job is just the icing on the cake," she says.