Ways to Help Reduce Stress

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Your Healthy-Heart Action Plan to Reduce Stress
Chronic stress or sudden and severe stress can be bad for your heart. Take steps to reduce stress and work to prevent heart disease.
By Chris Iliades, MD
Medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MPHPrintE-mailStress is a normal part of life, but stress over a long period of time or sudden and overwhelming stress can increase the risk of heart disease or even trigger a heart attack. If you want to maintain a healthy heart, you need to be able to identify stress and find ways to deal with it.


"Stress may contribute to heart disease because people who are stressed are less likely to take care of themselves," says Danya Dinwoodey, MD, a cardiologist at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Mass. Specifically, stress may increase your risk factors for heart disease if you react by not exercising, not sleeping, smoking, drinking, or overeating.


Studies show that sudden and severe stress may trigger a heart attack in someone with heart disease or even in someone with a healthy heart. "We have seen this after disasters like 9/11, or earthquakes. A sudden loss of a loved one, sometimes called 'broken heart syndrome,' may also trigger a heart attack. We don't know exactly how this happens, but the evidence is strong that it does," says Dr. Dinwoodey.


Reduce Stress to Prevent Heart Disease


Your body’s response to stress may have negative effects on your heart. "Stress is all around us. It is part of every day," says Donald Darst, MD, an internal medicine specialist at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. "Our body is set to rescue us from stress and get us ready to fight or run." The release of adrenalin, an increase in blood pressure, and an increase in heart rate associated with the stress response can wear down a healthy heart over time.

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Related: Exercise to Reduce Risk of Heart Attack — and Stress

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Stress may be common, unpreventable, and unpredictable, but there are positive steps you can take to reduce stress. Here are expert tips for de-stressing to help maintain a healthy heart.

Identify your sources of stress. You may be so used to stress that you don't even recognize it. Symptoms may include anxiety, aches and pains, trouble sleeping, weight gain or weight loss, and chronic fatigue. Once you recognize the symptoms, you can start to deal with stress in healthier ways.

Take time for yourself. "Many of my patients who struggle with stress are doing a million things for everybody else and very little for themselves," says Dinwoodey. Recognize that you won't be much good to anyone else if you are not good to yourself.

Eat well. Part of taking care of yourself means eating a balanced diet and avoiding too much caffeine and alcohol. "Avoid using food to comfort stress symptoms," says Dinwoodey. Also keep in mind that gaining or losing too much weight can strain a healthy heart.

Get enough rest. "In our society it is common to burn the candle at both ends. You need time to recover from stress,” advises Dr. Darst. “That means seven to eight hours of sleep every night."

Exercise regularly. "Studies show that people who exercise regularly reduce their stress response by about one-third compared to people who don't exercise," Darst says.

Connect with others. Talking to friends and loved ones can help you identify stress and get it out in the open where you can deal with it. "A lot of the stress we feel, we place on ourselves. Talking to others is the best way to gain perspective," says Darst.

Let go. Trying to control everything in your life is a sure way to build stress. Set realistic goals, control what you can, and let go of the rest.

Have fun. "Find activities that get you out of your routine and feed your soul," says Darst. It could be as simple as reading a good book, going for a walk, or enjoying a hobby.

Learn techniques to reduce stress. When you can't avoid stress, there are some tried and true ways of diffusing it. "Deep breathing, meditation, and yoga are all beneficial stress reducers," says Dinwoodey. You can combine meditation with exercise, or try guided muscle relaxation.

Ask for help. If you are feeling overwhelmed by stress, talk to your doctor. Your doctor can help you come up with a plan to reduce stress, and can screen you for depression.
Finding ways to reduce stress can help you prevent heart disease and may even help prevent a heart attack. And it doesn’t have to be complicated. "The best ways to reduce stress are what you learned in your fifth grade health book," says Darst. For a healthy heart, take care of yourself, be kind to yourself, and let go of the things you can't control.

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