8 Steps to Prevent a Holiday Heart Attack
Good food, laughter, and quality time with family. A picture perfect holiday season, right? Well, that is Hollywood’s version anyway. Holidays tend to spike stress levels for many.
Finding just the right gift. Preparing for company. Long hours cooking. Then hours of clean up. Late nights socializing. Long days on the road. Hazardous travel conditions.
Holiday activities trigger a spike in cardiovascular events, such as a heart attack. There is about a 5% increase in heart-related deaths during this season according to a 2004 study published in Circulation.
Take steps this holiday season to counteract the extra stress you know lies ahead.
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3 Tips to Naturally Lower Stress to Reduce Heart Disease Risk
Stress is part of life. There’s no way you can avoid stress entirely. However, if you constantly live with high stress levels it can lead to physical problems. These physical problems may include high blood pressure, angina (i.e. chest pains), arrhythmia (i.e. irregular heart rate) and heart disease.
How Does Stress Increase Heart Disease Risk?
Stress can increase heart disease risk in different ways. First, stress affects you emotionally. This could lead you to make unhealthy food and lifestyle choices, such as overeating, not exercising, and smoking. Stress also causes elevated levels of the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol, which may have a negative impact long term. Research is also finding that stress impacts the way blood clots.
What Can You Do to Reduce Stress?
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