Brain activity linked to stress heart attacks

A study carried out by Harvard Medical School has suggested that the effect of continual stress on a deep-lying region of the brain could explain the increased risk of a heart attack.

The research examined 300 people and found that those with higher activity in the amygdala, an area of the brain that processes emotions such as fear and anger, were more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, compared to others who had reduced activity.

The findings, published in the Lancet, indicted that stress could be as important a risk factor as smoking and high blood pressure.

Previous studies have linked emotional stress with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), which affects the heart and blood vessels - however the way this happens has not been properly understood.

The researchers suggested that the amygdala signals to the bone marrow to produce extra white blood cells, which in turn act on the arteries causing them to become inflamed, increasing the risk of heart attacks, angina and strokes.

Commenting on the findings, Dr Ahmed Tawakol, lead author and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, said: "Our results provide a unique insight into how stress may lead to cardiovascular disease.

"This raises the possibility that reducing stress could produce benefits that extend beyond an improved sense of psychological wellbeing.”

Tawakol added: "Eventually, chronic stress could be treated as an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which is routinely screened for and effectively managed like other major cardiovascular disease risk factors."