But when you’re stressed because you’re stuck in traffic and late for a meeting, the hormones serve no purpose. Nonetheless, they’re released and chronic stress means that they’re released often. In this situation, they cause damage to your cells. This damage at the cellular level can and does occur everywhere in your body, including your heart and arteries. Additionally. When you’re stressed your heart rate and blood pressure increase. It causes your heart to work harder, but unlike the hard work from exercise, you don’t get the beneficial hormones that exercise provides. Chronic stress also causes overeating and has been linked to insomnia, obesity, and a number of other issues that can lead to heart disease.
However, there are other steps you can take to reduce and eliminate stress. These include: • Laughter • Meditation • Participating in activities that bring you joy • Finding a community of friends • Spending time with your family • Reducing or eliminating triggers • Deep breathing • Progressive relaxation • Yoga Learn to notice when you’re feeling stressed and find methods to reduce it. You might go for a walk or practice deep breathing for a few minutes. You’ll not only feel happier and more relaxed, you’ll also enjoy better heart health.
However, there’s one step that we haven’t talked about and that’s the There is good news. importance of knowing and tracking your Exercise and a heart numbers. We’ve talked healthy diet both help about different blood your body manage the cholesterol levels and effects of stress and can we’ve also talked about actually reduce your stress. blood pressure and heart rate. Additionally, a good night’s sleep can also help However, we haven’t really your body manage stress. discussed how to measure those numbers, how
often to measure them, and why the numbers are important. So let’s take a look at that next. The Importance of Regular Health Screenings The next time you’re at your doctor’s office make sure that you get the critical numbers. We’re talking about your: • Cholesterol • Blood pressure • Blood Sugar • Weight These numbers are risk factors. We’ve talked about high blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, and blood sugar as it relates to type 2 diabetes. We’ve also talked about how being overweight is a risk factor for heart disease. Let’s break the numbers down for you quickly and talk about what the numbers mean. Cholesterol A total cholesterol score of less than 180 mg/dL is considered optimal. This is your HDL and your LDL numbers combined. Of course you want your HDL to be as high as possible and your LDL to be significantly lower.
