The damage of bad mood to the heart is far beyond imagination! Be careful of this disease! Teach you 3 steps to self-check and 4 ways to relieve it

Anxiety, depression and other negative emotions "harm" to the heart

Often ignored by everyone

Some friends feel anxious, tired, chest tightness, and fatigue.

I did a lot of heart tests and nothing was wrong.

This situation

It may be due to dual heart disease.

Many friends experienced symptoms of palpitations and chest tightness and went to the cardiovascular department outpatient clinic for treatment. They underwent electrocardiogram, cardiac ultrasound, pulmonary function, coronary CTA, coronary angiography... In the end, the examination results did not reveal any problems.

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But I just feel palpitations, chest tightness, fatigue, and weakness. What's going on?

In fact, you may have overlooked the impact of negative emotions such as anxiety, depression, and insomnia on the heart .

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Negative emotions cause the heart's autonomic nervous system to become disordered, which can also manifest as various forms of heart symptoms , and even other physical symptoms such as dizziness, headache, and indigestion.

This is what we call the somatic symptoms of emotions, which manifest in the heart, is cardio-psychological disease, referred to as dual heart disease, and can also be called cardiac neurosis.

The "Summary of China's Cardiovascular Health and Disease Report 2022" proposes that the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases should focus on diet, physical activity, obesity, smoking, sleep and psychology, and include psychological and emotional problems in key management to prevent the occurrence of hypertension, dyslipidemia and diabetes .

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At present, the incidence of anxiety and depression in patients with coronary heart disease is 22.8%-53.6%. On the one hand, mental/psychological diseases affect the occurrence and development of cardiovascular diseases; conversely, cardiovascular diseases can also cause and aggravate the progression of mental/psychological diseases.

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Modern medical research has proven that human emotions are closely related to disease .

Negative emotions can lead to nervous and endocrine dysfunction, and have adverse effects on health.

In fact, patients with anxiety and depression are also at high risk of cardiovascular diseases. Patients with anxiety and depression are in a state of mental stress, with high sympathetic nerve excitability. Emotional factors such as tension, fear, anxiety, and anger play a major role in the occurrence of coronary spasm. These changes will greatly promote the occurrence and development of cardiovascular diseases, thereby increasing the incidence and mortality of cardiovascular diseases .

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In addition, after suffering from cardiovascular disease, people may also experience anxiety and depression due to stress response, physical pain and discomfort, the economic burden brought by the disease, fear and worry about the disease, etc.

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This makes cardiovascular disease and negative psychological emotions mutually causal, influencing each other, accompanying each other and aggravating the progression of "dual heart disease".

According to the "Chinese Expert Consensus on Psychological Prescriptions for Cardiovascular Patients", here are three simple questions to see if you have emotional problems:

• Do you have poor sleep, which obviously affects your mental state the next day or requires medication?

• Are you feeling irritable and losing interest in things you used to be interested in?

• Are you clearly unwell, but multiple tests have failed to reveal an explainable cause?

If you answer "yes" to two of the three questions above, the probability of having a mental disorder is about 80%. At this time, you need to go to the dual heart clinic or a cardiovascular department with relevant experience immediately.

1. Psychological support therapy: breathing training, muscle relaxation, regular exercise and mindfulness meditation;

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2. Develop a healthy lifestyle and maintain good sleeping habits;

3. Eat a balanced diet, eat more omnivorous foods, pay attention to supplementing vitamin C and vitamin B, and eat more oats, oranges, green leafy vegetables, and cauliflower;

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4. Drug treatment. The specific medication plan needs to be formulated in the dual heart clinic or under the guidance of a cardiovascular physician with relevant experience.

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Put yourself in your own shoes

Everyone is concerned about heart health

Don’t forget your mental health too.

Statement: This article is a medical-related educational popular science article. It does not involve specific treatment methods or medical behaviors and cannot replace hospital visits.

References

[1] China Cardiovascular Health and Disease Report Editorial Group, Hu Shengshou. Summary of China Cardiovascular Health and Disease Report 2022[J]. Chinese Journal of Circulation, 2023, 38(6):583-612.

[2] Chinese Rehabilitation Association Cardiovascular Disease Committee, Chinese Gerontological Society Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease Committee. Chinese expert consensus on psychological prescription for patients visiting the cardiovascular department[J]. Chinese Journal of Cardiovascular Diseases, 2014, 42(1):6-13. DOI:10.3760/cma.j.issn.0253-3758.2014.01.003.

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