Heart Disease and Stress
Miller and Blackwell state, “Though people have long believed that certain thoughts and feelings are toxic for their health, only in the past 30 years has convincing evidence accumulated to support this view… specific cognitive and emotional processes do contribute to the development and progression of medical illness,” (Miller & Blackwell, 2006, p. 269). Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Through many experiments, research has shown that stress increases the health concerns directly related to heart disease. Stress is a part of everyday life, yet individuals perceive and process stress differently.
Stress
Stress is defined as, “the process by which we perceive and respond
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Inflammation is normally known as the body’s automatic response to foreign viruses and bacteria. Evidence shows that people with chronic stress may have significantly increased concentrations of inflammatory molecules such asinterleukin-6 (IL-6), a cytokine that plays an important role in the inflation process, and C-reactive protein (CRP), which is produced in the liver in response to the IL-6 (Miller & Blackwell, 2006). When the Sympathetic fibers from the brain activate both primary (bone marrow and thymus) and secondary (spleen and lymph nodes), they release a wide variety of substances that influence the immune response by binding to receptors on the white blood cells. Not all types of cells have the same amount of receptors, thus increaseing of certain cells and not all. Then the hormones epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol are recreated in various parts of the body along with brain peptides melatonin, β-endorphin, and enkephalin. These all bind to the receptors on the white blood cells and have diverse effects on the functions.
People’s own responses in trying to manage their stress can have an effect on their immune system. Behaviors such as consuming alcohol and sleeping too much or too little can change the way ones immune system is operating, “Thus, behavior represents a potentially important pathway linking stress with the immune system,”
Immune System: When people are under intense stress for a while, their immune systems may become dysregulated, leading to lower functioning of important white blood cells called lymphocytes and to increased production of C-reactive protein (CRP), a protein that spreads throughout the body and causes inflammation and various illnesses. Some studies suggest that immune system dysregulation of this kind may help produce depression.
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.
Stress has a huge impact on the immune system. The immune system is interconnected. For example the immune, nervous, and endocrine system is linked through specialized communication pathways involving hormones, neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, and immune cell productions. Stress reactions can directly affect the various response systems and how they handle the neuroendocrine-products. This stress reaction directly affects the hypothalamus and pituitary peptides through the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system. Some of these stressors might be life events, anxiety, and excitements.
Aims ---- The aim of this experiment was to determine the effects of stress on the immune system. This was determined by analysing how quickly a person’s wound healed. It naturally is clearly difficult to create stress within a group of participants to examine how stress does affect your immune system.
The video “Stress Portrait of a Killer” was enlightening. The correlation between each individual’s placement in the hierarchy and their level of stress was not surprising. In fact, it made a great deal of sense. When one is on the lower end of the spectrum, it is a reasonable to anticipate higher levels of stress than when one is at the higher end. The latter, has more control over what is happening in their lives which in turn eliminates that stress. What I found most interesting, is that stress lowers the body’s immunity. I had no idea that the brain cuts non-essential systems like the immune system when stress is present. I found this fact fascinating and rather concerning. For as long as I can remember, I have been very susceptible to
Outline and evaluate research into the relationship between the immune system and stress related illness
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)
Stress is one of the number one causes that contribute to people’s health problems. According to Weber.edu, “in Healthy People 2000, a report from the U.S.
Although gross medical advancements have allowed the human population to live longer and fuller lives without the threat of death from infectious diseases, it is apparent that we are now dealing with a different phenomenon that may be just as harmful to our health. The impact of psychological, social and environmental factors from our daily lives is having a drastic impression on the mental and physical wellbeing of our society. It has been shown in various studies that psychological and neurological factors influence the immune system and can have an effect on our health (Breedlove, Rosenzweig & Watson, 2010). As we allow various stressors, poisonous substances, unhealthy diets and lack of rest to overwhelm our existence, we are
It is the time of progress. The time of supercomputers, space shuttles, and many other wonders of technology. We have walked on the moon. We do our shopping at home via Internet navigation.
Chronic stress can also interfere with the body’s immune system directly through hormonal changes. Glucocorticoids-a hormone
Psychological stress is a result of many factors and should be dealt with very carefully. Stress can be defined as “An excess of demand made upon the adaptive capabilities of the mind and body”.(Joseph 1). Another way of putting it, is that there are some things that put certain demands on us. The effects of stress should not be limited to unpleasant emotional states. Many studies have concluded that the effects on our physical health from stress can be extremely detrimental. These adverse physical effects include heart disease and formations of cancer. There are also some societal issues that psychological stress can hamper.
The trouble begins when multiple life incidents hit us all at once and this is because during periods of dramatic changes, individuals are more vulnerable to stress (Jones & Bright, 2001). Therefore, stress has got the ability to activate pretty every system within the body, however, through a rather rudimentary mechanism which lies within the cellular level (Shreedhar et al., 2010).
Stress can cause many things that affect a healthy body. Stress causes quick yet shallow breathing in which case, the body's cells are being deprived of oxygen. Stress will increase cholesterol levels and can also cause indigestion, heartburn, a decreased sex drive, and also arteriosclerosis (the hardening of the arteries). While these symptoms may seem minimal, stress can decrease the activity of white blood cells. Since the white blood cells fight off sicknesses and diseases, the immune system is affected by stress and can make the body more susceptible to colds, viruses, flues, and diseases (Morrison 2).
“Stress is a silent disease” (Doctor Hobel). Over the years, stress has played a major rule in a large majority of people’s lives throughout the United States. When thought about, it is said to be extremely surprising as to how many people really have stress in each individual’s life. People do not consider what the reasons are for the feelings and emotions they experience. There are all different types of stress, and stress can do a lot to a person. Each person also handles stress in a different way. Some can handle more than others, because every single person’s body works in a different way. Stress has also been told to cause people to act out of character (Dr. David Posen). They often do not act the way they usually would while under