Cholesterol and Stress

Dear Robert:

I have a cholesterol problem and I read somewhere that stress can increase cholesterol and that by practicing stress management, my cholesterol can actually be lowered. Is that correct? If so, can you recommend any stress management methods?

Heart Wary

Dear Heart Wary,

There are some things we know and some that we do not. For instance, we know that the increase in adrenaline created by intense emotional stress causes blood to clot more readily, which will increase the risk of heart attacks. There was a study completed at Duke University which showed that the stress of doing complex number exercises can constrict the coronary arteries so that blood flow to the heart is reduced.

A study done in 2002 showed that mental stress triggers a lack of blood flow to the heart and can therefore increase the risk of death in people with coronary heart disease. That report came out of the Journal of the American Heart Association. Specifically patients who had coronary heart disease had a three times increase in the risk of death compared to those without mental stress. Other studies showed that during mental stress tests patients had less blood flow to their heart and higher rates of cardiac events.

We know that mental stress does increase oxygen demand due to the elevation of both blood pressure and heart rate. Other factors which decrease the blood supply to the heart include coronary artery constriction, which occurs during mental stress.

Also, not all emotional stress is bad. Particularly in relationship to occupational stress, the type of emotional stress often determines if there is a negative effect on the heart. It is typically those individuals that have little to no control at their job who had the most debilitating forms of emotional and mental stress. The more control a person has at their job, the more positive their experience and the less stress.

There were additional studies done on Type A personalities. Type A personalities are those individuals who were impatient, had a harrying sense of time urgency, were competitive and had free-floating hostility. These type of individuals had a higher risk for coronary heart disease than a Type B personality. A Type B personality that is someone who is patient and non-competitive. We found that emotional isolation also had a very negative effect on one’s health and individuals in a field of science known as psychoneuroimmunology (the science of the study of the mind’s effect on the body) found that it is very important to find social support for your emotional problems, and ways to talk about your emotional problems to others.

Certainly more research is needed to determine specifically the connection between heart disease and stress. Nevertheless, I have some recommendations for you.

I would certainly recommend practicing stress management techniques in reducing the risk of coronary events, perhaps meditation and/or biofeedback. There is no downside to these methods. Exercise is also a wonderful way of reducing stress. In addition, there is an organization called HeartMath (www.heartmath.com) which uses heart rate variability to reduce stress, that is the effect of the breath on heart rate to reduce stress. They have a sophisticated computer software program that helps individuals to move their heart rate and breath into a slower rhythm to reduce stress levels. Their program, which I tried, and found very effective, uses biofeedback and a computer screen to help a person relax. This particular system provided a black and white screen of a nature scene. As I relaxed, more and more colors would appear indicating I was relaxing. The colorization created a positive feedback device to deepen the breath, slow down the heart, and create very profound states of relaxation.

Good luck in your journey and Happy New Year!

Robert

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