Researchers Discover Connection Between Stress and Heart Attacks

Scientists have said, they have produced a study that chronic stress can lead to heart attack and stroke: triggers the production of white blood cells that can cause excessive harm excesses.

Surplus cells can build up on the inner walls of the arteries, restricting blood flow and encourages the formation of clots that block the circulation, or to rupture and spread to other parts of the body.

White blood cells important for fighting infection and healing, but if too much or they are in the wrong place, it can be dangerous, "said Matthias Nahrendorf, researchers from Harvard Medical School in Boston, as published in the Malay Mail Online, Monday (23 / 6/2014).

Doctors have long known that chronic stress causes heart disease, but the mechanism is not yet understood.

To find a relationship, Nahrendorf and team examined 29 medical workers in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Their work environment is considered as a model for chronic stress exposure, given the fast service and the heavy responsibility they bear for addressing the patient in an emergency.

Comparing blood samples taken during work hours and off duty, as well as the results of stress perception questionnaire, the researchers found a link between stress and the immune system.

In particular, they saw, stress activates the stem cells of bone marrow, which in turn triggers the overproduction of white blood cells, called leukocytes.

White blood cells, which is important in wound healing and fight infection, can turn against their "host", the consequences can be devastating with atherosclerotic disease, arterial wall thickening is caused by a buildup of plaque.

This research is then transferred into mice, which were given a stressful stimuli through the crowd and tilt enclosure techniques.

The team chose the rat because it is also prone to atherosclerosis.

They found that white blood cells are diperoduksi redundant, as a result of the accumulation of stress, converge on the inside of arteries and promote the growth of plaque.

"Here, the cells release enzymes that soften connective tissue and lead to plaque disruption," said Nahrendorf.

"This is a typical cause of myocardial infarction (heart attack) and stroke."

He added, leukocytes are one of the causes, in addition to factors such as high cholesterol and blood pressure, smoking, and genetic traits also contribute to the risk of heart attack and stroke.

"Stress can push it if it is in a critical stage," says the researcher.