This World Stroke Day, Manage Your Stress To Reduce Stroke Risk, Including Election Related Stress Which Is Surging Right Now
Experts Available On How Stress Plays A Major Role In A Patient’s Stroke Risk And Steps To Mitigate It
Whether it's the news between wars and the election, paying bills with inflation or managing family and work life balance, Americans are stressed. A study by the American Psychological Association found the sources of stress are varied, but stress is pervasive. More than a quarter of Americans (27%) say that stress is impacting their day to day functioning, and the number is even higher for African Americans and those under 35 years old. One thing stressing nearly everyone out right now is the presidential election, no matter what side of the political spectrum a person is on. Another American Psychological Association study found 69% of Americans are stressed about the upcoming presidential election.
Stress is a problem for many reasons, but one of the most serious is its contributing factor in a person’s stroke risk. Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a stroke, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Every 3 minutes and 11 seconds, someone dies of stroke in this country.
“Patients always ask me, ‘can stress cause a stroke?’ The answer is, probably not directly, but it causes all kinds of problems that lead to stroke,” said Colum Amory, M.D., vascular neurologist and stroke director at Hackensack University Medical Center and Hackensack Meridian Health Northern region. “Stress can cause health issues like hypertension, obesity, diabetes and sleep disturbances which are all risk factors for stroke.”
Stress causes a chemical and physical response in the body that puts a person at risk for heart attack and stroke. “When you're stressed you put out more stress hormones in your body like adrenaline and cortisol. These lead to an increase in your blood pressure, your heart rate, to put you in fight or flight mode,” Amory said. “All of that is helpful if you are actually facing a tiger in the wild but in everyday situations it is creating a feedback cycle of stress that puts patients at risk for cardiovascular events and stroke.”
Dr. Amory recommends managing stress with mindful meditation and counseling. “It’s helpful to have somebody to talk about your issues and help you normalize them. Counseling helps patients recognize when anxiety in your body is building up and what you can do to release that anxiety,” Amory said.
Ultimately everyone needs to find a healthy way to manage stress, because many of the ways we deal with stress now contribute to the greater heart attack and stroke risk. “If you are anxious and you sit down with your phone and doom scroll, you’re likely increasing your anxiety and missing out on valuable exercise,” Amory explains. “If you deal with anxiety by overeating comfort foods you’re at risk for weight gain and diabetes, especially because people stress eat unhealthy foods that increase your cholesterol and blood pressure. So it can be a vicious cycle.”
Hackensack Meridian Health experts are available for interviews to discuss risk factors for stroke including stress and the best ways to manage it.
Media Contacts:
Jessica Nussman Mary McGeever
551-237-0984 551-795-1675
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