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Stress and Heart Disease: Part 1

Summary & Participants

We've all experienced stress at one time or another. Your heart rate goes up, your blood pressure rises, and every part of your body tenses up. It has been linked to a variety of health conditions, but one of the most significant effects is the damage it can do to your heart. Not only is stress dangerous for people with heart disease, it can also increase the risk of heart complications. Join our panel of experts as they discuss the relationship between stress and heart disease, and share some helpful stress reduction techniques.

Medically Reviewed On: July 11, 2008

Webcast Transcript

LISA CLARK: It's also a bit scary to think that you might be contributing to your own illness by virtue of your personality type. What can people do to kind of thwart the Type-A urge, if that's what they've got?

NATE LEBOWITZ, MD: It's not easy, but it can be altered. It does take effort, it does take some learning and some training. The concept of "just relax" does not work. You need to learn. Stress reduction classes. Yoga, massage, tai chi, these have been studied and have been shown to have very beneficial effects on the true physiology, the measurable levels of adrenaline, the function of our arteries, and clearly have had health outcome benefits shown.

SAM BENJAMIN, MD: Intentionality. That's a very important issue. Having a positive attitude makes a difference. And when Mommy said, years ago: Don't get upset; it's going to get you sick, she was absolutely right. And that's a very important point.

Physicians who, unfortunately, sometimes make the mistake, for many reasons that are certainly unintentional, when they tell people: You have x-amount of time to live. That's probably one of the serious mistakes that we make as healthcare professionals. We have no idea of how long people will live or the quality of life that they have. And if, as a patient, you're confronted with it, you need to realize that the physician meant well. But, of course, they really have no idea whatsoever.

And the reason I say that is, if we fix something in our mind, we're learning more and more now that there's a physiologic, a biochemical apparatus, that helps us meet the time clock of what we've fixed. Intentionality. Our intentions, our optimism, makes a difference. And there are numerous studies to support that.

NATE LEBOWITZ, MD: I would add that social supports have been shown to be very, very beneficial. Humans were made to be social animals.

LISA CLARK: So you're talking about things like group therapy?

NATE LEBOWITZ, MD: People that have loving families, friendship networks, even pets, have been shown to do better with exactly the same disease state, than people who are loners, who do not have these social supports.

LISA CLARK: I can't thank you enough for being with us here tonight, Nate Lebowitz and Sam Benjamin. Thank you both so much for your input. And also, thanks to you for joining us for this webcast. I'm Lisa Clark.

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