Hypertension and Heart Disease

There are special cells in the heart that act as a natural pacemaker, sending electrical signals through their fibers to the heart muscle and regulating the heartbeat. An electrocardiogram reproduces these electrical patterns as a tracing. When there is a disturbance in any part of this conduction system, the heart may beat irregularly, or the rate may become either very slow or very fast. Irregular heartbeats can be life threatening in some cases, because the heart is unable to pump blood efficiently.

The problem with stress hormones in the twenty-first century is that the fight-or-flight respones is not usually necessary, since most of our stress is emotional. Occasionally, we may want to flee from a bank robbery or mugger, but most of us just want to flee from our jobs or our kids! In other words, our stress hormones actually put a physical strain on our bodies and can lower our resistance to disease, which can impact the body from head to toe. We can suffer from these stress-related difficulites: headaches, gastrointestinal problems, bladder problems, heart problems, back pain, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

The heart has four sets of valves that control the flow of blood passing through its four chambers. Most problems are caused by narrowing and obstruction or incomplete closing. When a valve is defective and does not close completely, blood leaks back. These defects cause the heart to work harder to pump the blood, and can result in heart failure.

The death of a loved one can sometimes lead to personal growth because we may see something about ourselves we did not see before - new resilience, for example. So even a death can be a good stress, though we grieve and are sad in the short run.

Bad stress results from boredom and stagnation. When no growth occurs from the stressful event, it is bad stress. When negative events do not seem to yield anything positive in the long run, the stress can lead to chronic and debilitating health problems. This is not to say that we can not get sick from good stress, either, but when there is nothing positive from the stress, it has much more negative effect on our health.

Working with a therapist or counselor may help. In the meantime, here are a few suggestions for reducing some sources of daily stress: isolate the exact source of stress and see if there's a solution. See the humor in difficult situations, and try to look at lessons learned instead of beating yourself up. When times get tough, surround yourself with supportive people: close friends, family members, and so on. Do not take things so personally.

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