Stress Heart Problems - How Stress and Anxiety Can Kill You

Stress in day to day living can build up to the point it creates anxiety attacks. These attacks can be very serious and can cause not only heart problems, but also stroke and low blood pressure.

If you think about it, it's no wonder stress heart problems are among the leading causes of heart attacks or other cardiovascular problems in the western world.

What happens during an anxiety attack?

A stress induced anxiety or panic attack might be viewed as an overwhelming feeling of fear or nervousness that makes it nearly impossible to think or behave normally.

You have no doubt heard the expression "frozen by fear." Anxiety attacks normally cause feelings similar to that. This, in turn, directly effects the heart.

How so?

First off, all of our organs and internal systems are connected. And all of these systems react in a certain way when the brain tells them there is imminent danger. We call this the "fight or flight" mode.

Stress and anxiety can signal that same threat to the brain. When the brain signals the body is in danger the heart races providing emergency blood to the other organs: The eyes are on alert, the muscles tighten and tense, hearing is keener --- literally every part of your body is called on for greater energy.

Normally periods of danger are relatively short. However, with stress induced anxiety, the brain keeps the body on full alert. All the work that goes into maintaining that high level makes it impossible to sustain it.

So the heart is told to beat faster, but then, because the body needs to rest, the brain signals the heart to slow down. But the anxiety tells it to speed up. Everything is racing and everything is trying to slow down.

Eventually it is easier just to stop.

Here are some effects of a an anxiety attack:

• Feeling cold
• Nervous trembling
• Irregular or fast heart beat
• Breathing difficulties
• Blood pressures goes up or down