Daily Lesson from Life 03 March 2009

Missed out last night due to some emergencies to attend to! So, this is the catch up!!

"Wed, Mar 04, 2009 The Star/Asia News Network - Mindful of the heart

THE list of risk factors for heart disease emailed to me by senior consultant psychiatrist Prof Ainsah Omar looked run-of-the-mill, but for two factors: "Type A personality, and stress".

Until recently, the effects of these two as risk factors for heart disease have been mostly observational and retrospective. In the Los Angeles earthquake in 1994, half of all immediate deaths were found to be due to cardiac arrests - five times greater than a usual day.

Soon after, many other incidents indicated that physical and emotional triggers, such as environmental disasters and vigorous physical exercise (particularly in those who are already at risk), can precipitate heart attacks.


Two years ago, a landmark global study - the INTERHEART study - managed to provide us with some numbers.

Using questionnaires, researchers compared 15,152 cases of heart attacks to 14,820 controls in 52 countries to find out if risk factors for heart attacks impact people of different races or from countries differently.


One notable finding was that psychosocial risk factors were more common amongst those who had heart attacks. From the study findings, it was estimated that if psychosocial risk factors alone (including stress and depression) were eliminated, 32.5% of heart attacks could be prevented.

The same study estimated that eliminating lifetime smoking alone would reduce heart attacks by 35.7%. Eliminating hypertension would reduce heart attacks by 17.9% and eliminating obesity would reduce the incidence by 20.0%.


A little stress is actually good for you. It helps you stay energetic, motivated and alert. In emergencies, stress also prepares you to respond adequately to danger, protecting you from harm.

But when stress levels remain high or when an individual fails to adapt to the stress, the stress response systems in the body will be continuously activated, resulting in persistent high levels of stress hormones and elevation of blood pressure, heart rate and contractility (the contraction of heart muscles), says Prof Ainsah, who is also the Deputy Dean of Research and Postgraduate Studies at the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM). "These will be detrimental to the heart," she adds.

The role of stress in heart attacks can generally be described with this analogy: your diet, lifestyle or genetic tendencies to get a heart attack loads the gun, and stress pulls the trigger.


We should take note that stress is not equivalent to stressful situations. While stressful situations may give rise to stress, your response to these situations partly determines your stress levels and how much they affect you.

"Personality determines how one reacts to stressful situations," Prof Ainsah says. Take Type A personalities as an example. Besides being aggressive, highly motivated and competitive, people who carry the trait are also easily worried, anxious and unable to express their anger and dissatisfaction frankly.

It is alright to set high expectations, but one should be able to accept failures if the expectations are not met, she adds. Workaholics, she says, should also ensure they have adequate time for rest and recreational activities.

The American Heart Association (AHA), in its short write-up on stress and heart attacks, says current data don't yet support specific recommendations about stress reduction as a proven therapy for cardiovascular disease.

"Research has demonstrated that laughter reduces stress through various mechanisms," Prof Ainsah says.
Laughter reduces stress by reducing levels of stress hormones (cortisol, noradrenaline) and releases anti-stress biochemicals such as endorphins. On top of reducing blood pressure and pulse rates that were raised during stress, the reduction of stress hormones also allows the immune system to function properly.

Anti-stress biochemicals like endorphins, on the other hand, can elevate people's moods and make them perceive less stress. If you're not sure you could lighten up your mood alone, surround yourself with happy people because just like laughter, moods are contagious too. Building a good support system can also go a long way in helping you handle stress better.

"Every one of us is bound to face stress, especially in the modern, challenging world," Prof Ainsah says. "We may not be able to control our life stressors, but we can change the way we perceive stress."

Indeed, a positive state of mind could be your ticket to a healthy heart too."

Suffice to say: Sometimes we have not control over the development of a stressful situation BUT we do have TOTAL control over how we respond to it! It can be natural or it can be inculcated, learned, practiced and be at peace! That will give us a Healthy Heart!!

Leaders need to be aware of this and take action to be positive always!!