Stories
Can Stress Trigger a Heart Attack? Doctors Explain Rising Global and Indian Fatalities
- •Cardiovascular disease caused 19.8 million deaths in 2022 globally, with heart attacks and strokes accounting for 85% of these fatalities, according to WHO data.
- •India saw a 10% increase in heart attack deaths in 2023, reaching 35,715, with half of Indian men experiencing heart attacks before age 50 and a quarter before 40.
- •Gujarat experienced a 55% rise in heart-related emergency calls in 2023, with 2,853 deaths, including young individuals aged 11-25.
- •Acute stress can directly impact the heart by increasing stress hormones, heart rate, and blood pressure, potentially destabilizing existing fatty deposits in those with coronary artery disease, leading to a heart attack.
- •Chronic stress, unlike acute stress, can negatively affect blood vessel lining, increase blood pressure and inflammation, disrupt the heart's electrical activity, and contribute to more severe heart disease over time.
Key Questions Answered
Sudden acute stress causes stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol to rise, forcing the heart to pump harder and faster while increasing blood pressure and oxygen requirements. For individuals with existing coronary artery disease, this response can destabilize a fatty deposit, causing a blood clot to form and block blood flow to the heart muscle.
Unlike acute stress which has a rapid onset, chronic stress over months or years continually triggers the stress response, causing negative changes in blood vessel lining cells, high blood pressure, and inflammation that damages arteries. It can also disrupt the heart's electrical system, causing arrhythmias or a racing rhythm.
Experts warn that you should never ignore ongoing pressure or pain in the chest, breathlessness, shortness of breath, anxiety, nausea, or radiating pain in the shoulder, back, jaw, or neck even in the absence of other symptoms.
