Photo: PIXOLOGICSTUDIO/ISTOCKPHOTO/THINKSTOCK
Signs of stress. Chronic stress causes dangerous changes to atherosclerotic plaques inside blood vessels—like the one shown here.
There’s a reason people say “Calm down or you’re going to have a heart attack.” Chronic stress—such as that brought on by job, money, or relationship troubles—is suspected to increase the risk of a heart attack, according to Science magazine.
“Epidemiological studies have shown that people who face many stressors—from those who survive natural disasters to those who work long hours—are more likely to develop atherosclerosis, the accumulation of fatty plaques inside blood vessels,” the magazine says in an article published late last month.
In addition to fats and cholesterols, the plaques contain monocytes and neutrophils, immune cells that cause inflammation in the walls of blood vessels. And when the plaques break loose from the walls where they’re lodged, they can cause more extreme blockages elsewhere—leading to a stroke or heart attack.
Scientists have found out that blood samples taken when the doctors were most stressed out had the highest levels of neutrophils and monocytes. To probe whether these white blood cells, or leukocytes, are the missing link between stress and atherosclerosis, they experimented on mice.
Compared with control mice, the stressed mice—like stressed doctors—had increased levels of neutrophils and monocytes in their blood.
More immediately, the new observations suggest a way that clinicians could screen patients for their risk of atherosclerosis, heart attack, and stroke, Tall says. “Rather than asking four questions about stress levels, we could use their white blood cell counts to monitor psychosocial stress,” the magazine quotes a scientist.
“It makes sense that stress wakes up these immune cells because an enlarged production of leukocytes prepares you for danger, such as in a fight, where you might be injured,” Nahrendorf says. “But chronic stress is a different story—there’s no wound to heal and no infection.”
Scientists believe the finding could lead to new drugs to help prevent cardiovascular disease
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