Overview:

Chronic stress can lead to poor sleep, unhealthy eating habits, and behaviors like smoking and alcohol abuse, which can raise the risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. Managing stress is an important part of protecting your heart. Ways to reduce stress and protect your heart include building healthy lifestyle habits with regular physical activity, spending time with friends or family for support, focusing on what you can control and breaking tasks into steps, practicing deep breathing or quiet time daily, using positive self-talk to stay calm, and practicing gratitude and joyful moments.

Stress is a normal part of life. It can come from school, work, family, money, or busy schedules. Short-term stress is normal, but when stress lasts a long time, called chronic stress, it can also affect your body in serious ways. 

Parkland Health experts say stress often leads to poor sleep, unhealthy eating, and habits like smoking and alcohol abuse. These behaviors can raise the risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.

When you feel stressed, your body releases hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. This fight-or-flight response makes your heart beat faster and raises your blood pressure. 

Mental and emotional stress may also make you feel tired, cranky, or out of control. People with negative feelings like anxiety or pessimism are more likely to have harmful physical responses such as high blood pressure and inflammation. Positive feelings like gratitude and optimism are linked to lower blood pressure and better cholesterol, which help protect the heart.

Ways to reduce stress and protect your heart:

  • Build healthy lifestyle habits with regular physical activity
  • Spend time with friends or family for support
  • Focus on what you can control and break tasks into steps
  • Practice deep breathing or quiet time daily
  • Use positive self-talk to stay calm
  • Practice gratitude and joyful moments

Managing stress isn’t just about feeling better, it’s an important part of protecting your heart. For more information on how to manage high blood pressure and heart health, visit www.parklandhealth.org/hypertension .