Stress | Causes of heart attack

Stress

A heart attack is often caused by emotional stress or physical exertion. It is also caused by overwhelming emotional events such as the sudden death of a close person, a great shock or great excitement (e.g. as a spectator in a stadium watching a World Cup final victory). In such cases, the heart attack occurs when one was just about to recover after a stressful period, for example, in older people often a few weeks after retirement.

The reasons for this are probably stress hormones and changes in the autonomic nervous system. Due to the constant tension, the blood pressure is permanently raised and thus the risk of arteriosclerosis, the most important risk factor for a heart attack, increases. Over a third of all heart attacks occur in the early morning hours, and in addition, a fifth of all heart attacks occur on Mondays at the beginning of the week.

The reason for this is probably that the blood is more viscous in the morning than in the afternoon, blood pressure is higher and the pulse is faster. If now additionally strong stress affects the possibly already infarct-endangered humans, it comes rather to the cardiac infarction than to another time of day. In a study it could be proven that also conditions of the rage can be cause for cardiac infarcts. The risk of a heart attack can be reduced by stress reduction, for example by means of aggression management training.

For young people

One of the most important causes of a heart attack is the degree of hardening of the arteries (arteriosclerosis, plaques accumulate in the arteries). A certain degree of arteriosclerosis is often detectable even in young people. The plaques restrict the blood flow, as the diameter and elasticity of the vessel decreases due to the deposits.

Studies carried out on fallen soldiers in the Korean War have shown that fatty deposits on the artery walls were already present in one third of the young men. In one in ten, the deposits were so pronounced that several blood vessels were almost closed. In addition, young people also belong to the risk group for heart attacks if they are heavy smokers, overweight or are professionally very stressed.

Congenital diseases such as lipometabolic disorders (e.g. familial hypercholesterolemia) can also be a cause of heart attacks at a young age. Even extreme sportsmen, who are apparently well-trained and fit, may have a weak heart and therefore have an increased risk of suffering a heart attack. However the heart attack risk by stress rises usually only with humans with pre-illnesses such as Arteriosklerose, a container-healthy humans tolerates at short notice also strong emotional stress.

Moderate alcohol consumption (e.g. a glass of wine per week) can reduce the risk of heart attacks. Especially the moderate consumption of red wine is often said to have a positive effect on the risk of heart attack. Certain substances (antioxidants) in red wine slow down the breakdown of nitric oxide in the blood, which reduces the risk of deposits in the blood vessels.

Blood lipid values can also be positively changed by red wine. However, the protective effect of alcohol on the heart only applies to very moderate consumption, because in general, alcohol consumption is considered harmful to the cardiovascular system. In contrast, higher alcohol consumption directly damages the heart muscle and increases the risk of suffering a heart attack.

It is estimated that up to 60 percent of all dilated cardiomyopathies (abnormal dilatation of the heart muscle) are caused by alcohol abuse. Alcohol leads to increased blood pressure, as alcohol has a stimulating effect on the autonomic nervous system. The heartbeat accelerates and blood is pumped more strongly into the body, resulting in palpitations after alcohol.If blood pressure is permanently too high, the walls of the blood vessels can be damaged and deposits of fat, calcium and connective tissue (arteriosclerosis) can form.

In addition, chronically high blood pressure leads to heart damage such as a pathological thickening of the heart muscle, cardiac arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation or cardiac insufficiency. Especially if other risk factors for the development of a heart attack already exist (e.g. overweight, lack of exercise, diabetes, high blood pressure), the risk of a heart attack is extremely increased by the consumption of alcohol. Overweight is also a significant risk factor for a heart attack. Since alcohol contains a lot of calories, the consumption of alcohol leads to an increased weight gain and thus also increases the risk of a heart attack. It should also be noted that regular consumption of alcohol damages the liver and promotes other diseases (e.g. cancer).