When you suffer from a heart rhythm disorder, you should avoid stressful situations as much as possible. Such advice isn’t always easy to follow. Simply having a heart condition or heart incident is a major stressor in itself.
It is therefore a vicious circle: the more you stress, the greater you are at risk of heart problems, which are aggravated by stress… since stress raises your blood pressure and heart rate, increasing the work the heart must do. By inhibiting the efficiency of the immune system, it slows down the healing process. It can also cause arrhythmia, i.e. an irregular heartbeat. Lastly, stress can also lead you to be less physically active, smoke more, and pay less attention to what you eat.
How stress affects the heart
The amygdalas, which are cerebral structures that control emotions, are activated during exposure to a stressful stimulus. They stimulate the production of white blood cells by the spinal cord and send them to the arteries. The white blood cells accumulate and form plaques, increasing the risk of cardiovascular incidents.
Recognizing signs of stress
Before trying to reduce stress, you first need to recognize it. It is not harmful itself. Stress can even give you wings in the short term. But when it lasts for a long period of time, it can be destructive and show up in several ways. Stress can cause insomnia, leading to fatigue and even exhaustion. It can also cause tension, resulting in neck and head pain. It can also lead to overthinking, mood swings and irritability. Isolation from family and friends is another common sign.
If you experience several of these symptoms, it is important to contact your primary care physician and cardiologist as soon as possible.
When stress breaks the heart
The poetically-named broken heart syndrome brings to mind a more or less imaginary condition that is actually a form of dilated cardiomyopathy, a very real condition. Also known as Takotsubo syndrome, this relatively unknown condition is triggered by particularly acute physical or psychological stress. It mainly affects women over the age of 50.
A few tips to help you relax
When you suffer from a heart rhythm disorder, it is essential that you try to limit stress as much as possible. There are several ways you can do this, but the most effective remains to adopt lifestyle habits that help you protect your heart. Start by taking up a physical activity, which releases endorphins and boosts wellbeing. Sport also helps to keep blood pressure under control and maintain a healthy weight, to prevent the heart from overworking. Likewise, a balanced diet helps to reduce stress, as does high-quality sleep.
Relaxation techniques including meditation, deep breathing, tai-chi and yoga can also help. Priorities need to be established: overworking and having a high mental load at home can be a huge source of stress. It is important to try to reduce these factors and take time for yourself while maintaining a social life. Seeing family and friends helps to reduce stress. There are also associations that regularly organize discussions groups and provide the opportunity to meet people suffering from the same heart conditions and who have encountered similar problems of over-invasive stress (see box).
Seeing a therapist can be beneficial too. A mental health professional can help to establish an action plan to manage and reduce stress.
Dedicated associations
A certain number of specialized associations support people suffering from heart issues, as well as their loved ones. Among them is the Alliance du coeur, which brings together various associations across France. More specialized associations include the, Association des porteurs de dispositifs électriques cardiaques (APODEC), the l’Association pour les patients insuffisants cardiaques et leurs proches (ASPIC), and Coeur des Mamans Priorité Prévention, not forgetting the Association vie et coeur avec insuffisance cardiaque (AVEC), created for patients and their loved ones.
