Whether you’re dealing with a tight work deadline or unexpected car trouble, you may be feeling a little stressed. Though stress is a normal part of life, the amount of stress you have and how you react to it may have long-lasting effects on your health.
For some, stress triggers headaches or stomach pain. In others, stress may impact arterial health by increasing blood pressure or behaviors like overeating that affect blood cholesterol levels.
Stress and arterial health
When experiencing stress, your body’s autonomic system causes a physiological change in your body that makes you more alert, focused, and energized. That stress response is your body’s way of protecting you.
With the demands of modern life, many people experience stress on a regular basis. Your chronic stress causes a prolonged activation of your stress response. Over time, your chronic stress response disrupts your body’s equilibrium and strains your physical and emotional health.
One of the physical symptoms of chronic stress is high blood pressure. Over time, high blood pressure affects arterial health by damaging the walls of your blood vessels, which increases your risk of having a stroke or heart attack.
To manage the emotional toll of your chronic stress, you may turn to food, alcohol, or smoking. These lifestyle habits may affect blood cholesterol levels and increase your risk of arterial disease such as Carotid Artery Disease or Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD).
How you cope with stress
The ways you cope with stress can have a big impact on your blood pressure and arterial health. Many factors influence how you respond to stress, including your genetics, learned behaviors, and life experiences.
As previously mentioned, many people cope with stress by engaging in negative behaviors, like overeating or smoking. Because these behaviors increase your risk of developing hypertension and cardiovascular disease, it’s important to learn how to cope with stress in ways that promote health.
Physical activity is one of the best ways to improve stress and arterial health. Regular exercise boosts your mood and lowers your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. It also strengthens your heart, which may improve poor circulation.
Meditation and healthy sleep habits may also help you cope with stress so it doesn’t affect your arterial health.
Improving arterial health
Stress is an unavoidable part of life. Taking steps to reduce and manage your stress may prevent or improve any health problems related to your stress, including arterial disease.
Arterial diseases include conditions that affect your arteries, which are the blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood to all the organs, tissues, and cells in your body. Carotid artery disease and peripheral artery disease are the most common types of arterial diseases.
Carotid Artery Disease
Your carotid arteries are the main arteries that deliver oxygen-rich blood to your brain. Carotid artery disease occurs from narrowing or blockage in these arteries that limits the delivery of blood to the brain.
Peripheral Artery Disease
Your peripheral arteries supply oxygen-rich blood throughout your body. Like carotid artery disease, PAD occurs when these blood vessels become narrowed or blocked.
High blood pressure, smoking, and high cholesterol increase your risk of carotid artery disease and PAD. Improving your stress levels and coping mechanisms may lower your risk of developing an arterial disease.
Stress is normal and, in some situations, positive. However, chronic stress taxes your body and affects arterial health. If you have concerns about vascular health, we can help.
If you or a loved one are experiencing stress or have arterial symptoms, you must seek medical attention immediately. Making an appointment with a vascular surgeon specializing in arterial and venous disease is critical.
Vascular & Vein Center at Gulfcoast Surgeons
The Vascular and Vein Center at Gulfcoast Surgeons is one of the first and most respected vein clinics in Southwest Florida. Their surgeons, Dr. Abraham Sadighi, Dr. Michael Novotney, and Dr. Johan Escribano, have performed thousands of vascular and vein surgeries over the past 28 years.
They focus on diseases of the vascular system that can range from harmless but unattractive spider veins to dangerous conditions such as peripheral artery disease. Their caring and dedicated team will help you identify problems and offer the best treatment options for you.
The Vascular and Vein Center at Gulfcoast Surgeons offer a fully equipped vascular lab and state-of-the-
art Angio suite to provide a higher level of service and care for their patients. You’ll find comfort in knowing that they have a long-standing reputation for positive surgical outcomes that allow you to get back to healthy living.
Call the Vascular & Vein Center at Gulfcoast Surgeons today at (239) 344-7061 to make an appointment with a vascular surgeon who specializes in arteries and veins.
Vascular & Vein Center at Gulfcoast Surgeons
877-LEG-PAIN
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Fort Myers, Florida 33907
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