Chronic Stress and Stroke Risk: In today’s busy life, work pressure, financial problems and personal life complications are becoming the cause of stress. Although short-term stress is normal, when it persists for a long time, it can affect not only your mood but also the health of your heart and brain. Due to continuous stress, blood pressure can increase, sleep can get disturbed and eating habits can also get spoiled. All these problems can play a role in increasing the risk of stroke. Now the question is, does stress really increase the risk of brain stroke? How does chronic stress affect the body? What should be done to prevent this? Let us understand about this-
How does constant stress affect the brain and heart?
In a report of News9, Dr. Syamlal S, Senior Consultant, Department of Neurology, Thiruvananthapuram, says that, during stress, hormones like adrenalin and cortisol are released in the body. These prepare the body to face difficult situations. During this period, heartbeat may increase and blood pressure may increase. If stress continues for a long time, it can have repeated effects on the body. This can increase the risk of high blood pressure, inflammatory processes in the body and disturbances in metabolism. High blood pressure is one of the most important risk factors for stroke.
Apart from this, constant stress also affects sleep. Not getting enough sleep can make it difficult to control blood pressure and blood sugar. In some people, stress can also increase heartbeat related problems.
Can stress increase the risk of brain stroke?
Stroke occurs when the blood supply to any part of the brain is disrupted. This may be due to blockage of a blood vessel or rupture of a vein. High blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking and certain heart diseases are major risk factors for stroke. In fact, due to prolonged stress, some people reduce physical activities, start eating more junk food, smoke or increase alcohol consumption. This can increase the risk of problems like weight gain, worsening blood pressure and diabetes.
In this way, stress can affect the risk of stroke through both body and behavior. However, just because of stress does not mean that a person will definitely have a stroke. Its effect also depends on the person’s health, lifestyle and other risk factors.
Who need to be more careful?
People who already have high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity or heart disease should not ignore stress. People who have previously suffered a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) should also continue regular checkups and treatment as per the doctor’s advice.
What to do to reduce stress?
- Make a habit of taking a daily walk or exercising as per your capacity.
- Get adequate and regular sleep.
- Practice techniques like yoga, meditation and deep breathing.
- Eat a balanced diet and avoid smoking.
- Get your blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol checked regularly.
- If you have prolonged stress, restlessness or sleep problems, seek expert help.