The stress factor
As many as one-quarter of heart attacks in women could be triggered by some stressful external event, says Dr. Paul Dorian, coauthor of A Change of Heart: Recovering from Heart Disease in Body and Mind (Random House Canada, 1999).
Our body responds to stress by producing more adrenaline, a hormone that gives us increased energy to fight or flee but also increases blood pressure, heart rate and blood-clotting potential. “All of these lead to an increased likelihood of plaques in the arteries rupturing and a subsequent heart attack,” says Dorian, who is also a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto.
This may help explain why people who suffer from chronic low-grade depression are more likely to develop heart disease as they age compared with more cheerful folk. People who stay depressed following a heart attack are also more likely to die than those who recover from any depression a heart attack is likely to engender. Dorian's own research has shown that people who require an implantable defibrillator to help maintain a regular heartbeat are more likely to die if they are depressed than if they are not.
“People react spontaneously to acute illness, but a proportion don't get over the expected low mood,” says Dorian. This will not only impair their recovery but also make them less likely to adopt heart-healthy habits, he adds.
If mild depression persists for longer than six to 12 weeks following a heart attack, you should seek medical attention.
Does Asprin work?
Aspirin really does prevent heart attacks -- and strokes -- in women. After more than 10 years of followup, the Women's Health Study showed last year that in women over age 65, taking low-dose Aspirin every other day reduces the risk of heart attack by 34 per cent and the risk of ischemic stroke (caused by a blockage in an artery leading to the brain) by 30 per cent. Ischemic stroke is caused by the same disease process that causes the majority of heart attacks and it is by far the most common type of stroke women experience.
Page 2 of 3 – Learn the risk factors and what to avoid in your daily habits on page 3.
