How do Psychosocial Factors Influence Cardiac Health Essay

Stress Is the body’s way of responding to the hectic lives most of us live, whether good or bad. The body releases chemicals into the bloodstream, which creates a rush of energy and strength If an individual is feeling stressed. This energy can prove useful if an individual is in physical danger. Because it enables a person’s survival instinct kicks in; it is often described as ‘fight or flight.’ In addition, stress can also have a negative effect on the body, for example: suffering from stress and leaving it unchecked can contribute to health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.

There are three different theories that are used when talking about how we react to stress through the physiological aspect or the psychological aspect. The first is part of the physiological aspect of stress called the Cannon Fight or Flight theory which was proposed in 1914. Fight or Flight response is a physiological stress response that evolved to help organisms to survive immediate danger. The theory states that when an organism, human being or animal, faces imminent danger (acute stressor) the body arouses quickly and is ready to act via two different systems. They are the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine system. The sympathetic nervous system stimulates the adrenal medulla which is part of the endocrine system and is the region that produces the hormones such as adrenaline and noradrenaline. These hormones increase heart rate, blood flow, and glucose levels to prepare the body for an emergency. This response from the body suggests that the body knows how to protect itself and reach homeostasis. These two systems work together to either fight against the danger or flight away from the danger. Lord, King and Pfister in 1976 studied the Fight or Flight response in animals through a very unethical study. They administered chemicals on male hooded Wistar rats which inhibited the neurotransmitters from functioning normally. This made it very difficult for the rats to escape an electric shock. The results of the study suggest that the Flight or Fight response

“Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances”. It is generally known as “pattern of disruptive physiological and psychological reaction to events that threaten the ability to cope” (Oxford Living Dictionaries, 2017).

What causes all of these symptoms? Anxiety is known as a physiological or behavioral change that causes the formation of symptoms and affects the coping mechanism that affects a person’s everyday reaction to a stressor (Stuart 219). These changes occur at the autonomic nervous system, which influences the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems which are in turn responsible for body processes. The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the “fight or flight” defense system which is what causes anxiety. Anxiety is perceived by the cortex of the brain which sends a stimuli to the adrenal glands which then release epinephrine, which causes you to breathe harder, you pulse and blood pressure increase. Blood moves away from the stomach and intestines where it was used to digestion and it shifts towards the heart, CNS, and muscles to replenish resources used during flight or fight (Stuart 220-1). GABA and Serotonin are also both responsible for the cause of anxiety. GABA which is affects the amygdale and hippocampus which is the center for emotions such as fear, arousal, and rage. Dysregulated Serotonin is likely play a role in the cause of anxiety (Stuart 222).

Although the term cardiovascular disease refers to a disorder of the cardiovascular system, it is usually associated with atherosclerosis, also known as arterial disease. It is considered the leading cause of deaths in the world, taking 17.1 million lives a year. There are only a few factors that are non-modifiable, these being the persons age, gender, family history and their race and ethnicity. Although there are non-modifiable risk factors, there are multiple multiple risk factors that are modifiable that anyone can use to prevent getting any type of cardiovascular disease. These people just need to have the motivation to be able to change themselves and their lifestyles in order to better

Stress is a very common everyday thing. People have stress so much that most of the time they don’t even know how much it’s affecting them. Stress can really affect your body, mind, and behavior. It is a normal response to situations that make you feel upset or threatened in a way. Stress is the body’s way of change. The change can either be good or bad.

What is Stress? Stress is not a new phenomenon; it has been experienced throughout history. Stress is a biological response to some stimulus. Fear, panic, anger, tragedy, and even something as simple as being competitive can

“Stress does a number on our bodies and is associated with an accelerated heart rate and blood pressure state,” said Lynne T. Braun, PhD, professor of nursing at Rush University in Chicago. “By

The effects of stress and heart disease is explained in a study Chida and Steptoe (2009), in which investigators looked at populations of people in healthy known areas, and assessed in total twenty five different studies. Anger and hostility has a positive relationship with coronary heart disease and was greater in men compared to women. Their findings also showed that individuals who had cardiac arrest and were resuscitated, twenty five percent admitted to feeling extremely stressed with work and family instances just twenty four hours before they had cardiac arrest. Daily activities that provoked moderate, acute stress demonstrated lower levels of blood supply to the hearts muscle. Deanfield et al. (1984)

Heart disease is the leading cause of fatality accounting for every one in four deaths in the United States (CDC, 2015). Even though cardiovascular disease affects men and women, it is more likely for women to pass away within the first year after a heart attack (The Gender, 2015). There are several different explanations proposed as to why this gender gap exists. A person’s genetic traits and habits can increase their risk for heart disease. In order to understand the risk factors for women, we must first understand what heart disease is. Then we can examine the risk factors of heart disease, the causes, and finally prevention and treatment.

Uncontrolled risk factors include things like age, sex, family history of heart disease, and race. There are things you cannot help or change. You are going to get older and your body is going to go through changes during that time. Men have a greater risk of heart disease than women do. Even after women go through menopause, their death rate from heart disease is less than men. If a family member has heart disease, everyone in the family is at risk of also having heart disease. Unfortunately even your race can put you at a higher risk of having heart disease. African Americans, Mexican Americans, and American Indians have a higher risk of heart disease than Caucasians. (“Risk Factors for Heart Disease”)

Stress is defined as a response to the demand placed on you. Stress is a natural reaction when the brain recognizes a threat. When the threat is seen, your body secrete the hormones that activate the "fight or flight" response. This battle or flight response is not limited to perceiving the threat, but in less severe situations, it is triggered when we encounter unexpected events. Psychiatrist Richard S. Lazarus is best stressed as "a condition or feeling felt by a person when he sees that the demands go beyond the personal and social resources that the individual can mobilize." For most people, stress is a negative

By far the worst effect of anxiety is on the heart and stress-caused heart conditions are getting common by the day. A combination of heartburn, weakening of the immune system and an anxious restless mind, could have an adverse effect on the heart, paving the way for heart

When we encounter a threat that we feel we do not have the resources to deal with, a stimulus known as stressors are released and as a result, makes us stressed. These stressors activate the stress-response system which sends a cascade of biological events thus releasing the stress hormones known as adrenaline and cortisol. The hormones cause our body to go into a ‘Flight or Fight’ mode and can affect us either positively or negatively. By going into flight or fight mode our blood pressure, breathing, and heart rate increases meanwhile there is a decrease in digestive activity and the liver produces more glucose for energy. The topic of stress is a very popular area of study for those interested in human sciences. In particular, stress is often viewed through the scopes of a Psychologist, Sociologist and an Anthropologist.

As for my stress, I use task-oriented coping strategies to keep my stress levels at a minimum (Lefton p.464). I also try to make regular visits to a clinic, and get physicals for both myself, and my son Tre'. Hopefully by using these preventative strategies I can keep heart disease's deadly touch at bay.Like all areas of medicine, prevention methods change as new data accumulates and old ideas fall by the wayside. The enhancement of health and prevention of disease comes from looking beyond the numbers and statistics to evaluate the whole picture. Clinical experience, judgement, and even personal experience is as important to achieving a healthy