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Your emotional well-being has an impact on your physical health, and there is increasing evidence of a connection between mental health and heart attacks. The link is a two-way street. Your mental health can affect your heart, and your heart can affect your mental health.
When you understand how heart attack and depression and other mental health conditions are connected, you can take steps to safeguard both your heart and your mind.
Stress and Heart Attack: How High Stress Levels Raise Heart Attack Risk
People who have depression or high stress levels have a higher rate of heart disease, which can lead to heart attacks. Stress is known to increase certain hormones, including cortisol and adrenaline. This can raise your blood pressure and heart rate, increasing your heart’s workload and possibly contributing to hardening of the arteries. Even if you don’t have heart disease, depression increases the risk of a heart attack.
Mental health issues can also lead to less healthy behaviors. This includes smoking, excessive drinking, and overeating, all of which are contributing factors for heart attacks. Addressing stress and depression can make you more inclined to live a healthy lifestyle and lower your risk of heart attack.
The Link Between Depression and Heart Attacks
People who have had a heart attack are more likely to experience anxiety or depression. This is often a result of worry about their condition. As many as a third of those who have had a heart attack have some depression, compared to 1 in 10 adults in the general population. Heart attacks can lower your sense of certainty about the future, as well as your confidence in your ability to lead a normal life. Some people may feel guilt about behaviors that could have contributed to a heart attack. A positive outlook is important to recovering from a heart attack, though, so it’s important to address these concerns.
Another factor in the link between heart attack and mental health is that heart attack patients who are depressed are less likely to take their prescribed medication. This can raise their chance of having another heart attack. And, the hormonal imbalances associated with depression can put people at higher risk for potentially fatal heart rhythm problems. One study showed that ongoing depression after a heart attack raised the risk of death within six months from 3% in those who were not depressed to 17%.
Caring for Your Mind to Improve Your Heart
Whether you are at risk for a heart attack or have had one, it’s important to address your emotional well-being in a way that will improve your heart as well as your mind. Be aware of factors that cause stress or worry, but don’t try to fix everything at once. Adjust your eating or sleeping habits gradually. Exercise and activity can make you feel better, but talk to your healthcare provider before beginning an exercise program. Consider yoga, tai chi, or meditation to help you relax. Make an effort to see family and friends. Taking action can boost your self-confidence that can, in turn, have a positive effect on your health.
Feeling low for a day or two is normal. But if your sadness lasts for more than a couple of weeks, take steps to address it by talking with your doctor or seeking counseling from a qualified individual or group. You don’t have to live with worry or sadness. Rediscover the joy of everyday life. There is help for those who seek it out.
