Wednesday, March 4, 2009

~Heart Broke Girl~ The real deal on emotions and CHD



I am a highly spiritual being. I see things in the 'light' for the most part. I believe I am a positive, high energy, loving, and giving person. Today my heart really hurts. I don't mean just emotional pain...but it HURTS physically from the emotional pain It hurts because of the lack of compassion that has run a muck on this planet. Sometimes I just want to die. No pun intended. I have posted three different articles on coronary heart disease (CHD) and emotion. A healthy heart thrives in a healthy environment. A broken heart dies in a broken and tattered environment. How can I fix this? How can we fix this?

Negative Emotions Increase Coronary Heart Disease Risk

Depression, anxiety, and other negative emotions have been associated with an increased risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). Although the association is strong, the relationship may be mediated by the presence of other risk factors, such as the metabolic syndrome or sympathetic nervous system activity. Todaro and associates examined the relationship between negative emotions and CHD after controlling for metabolic syndrome components and stress hormones (i.e., epinephrine and norepinephrine).

How do emotions raise the risk of heart disease?

It isn’t really clear how emotional illness causes heart disease. It has been shown that emotions have a profound affect on the levels of adrenaline that circulate through the body. Many research studies have show that when emotions are high such as when a person has anger or severe anxiety the levels of adrenaline circulating in the body will also sky rocket. The body reacts to what it perceives as threatening situation by releasing many hormones and chemical to try to adapt. These various hormones sometimes will produce unwanted effects. They can lead to high blood pressure. They may cause cholesterol deposits to form in the arteries of the body. In a rare case they can even cause a heart attack or what is called “sudden death.”

Does your heart sense your emotional state?
Stressful feelings may increase your risk of developing heart disease. Researchers at the Institute of HeartMath explain the connection

As part of the “Heart Smarts” series, “Today” explores the link between your heart health and your emotions. The heart's more than a pump — it actually sends messages to the brain. Dr. Rollin McCraty of the Institute of HeartMath visited “Today” to discuss the science behind the theory.

An appreciative heart is good medicine
Psychologists once maintained that emotions were purely mental expressions generated by the brain alone. We now know that this is not true — emotions have as much to do with the heart and body as they do with the brain. Of the bodily organs, the heart plays a particularly important role in our emotional experience. The experience of an emotion results from the brain, heart and body acting in concert.

The Institute of HeartMath, a research center dedicated to the study of the heart and the physiology of emotions, has conducted numerous studies identifying the relationship between emotions and the heart. A number of their studies have provided new insight into understanding how the activity of the heart is indeed linked to our emotions and our health, vitality and well-being.
sources article #1 http://www.aafp.org/afp/20040515/tips/5.html
article #2 www.drlaman.com
article #3 msnbc
If you think I am being negative in this article, I am truly sorry. I am just expressing real felt emotions and I think that it is important to do this. I have a great sense of humor but some times we need to vent or express how we feel. It is very healthy to do this and I honor this.

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