Has anxiety or worrying about things too much ever caused heart attacks for people in their 50's?

Question

Also, is it true that worrying too much can make a person sick?

Answer 1

Yes and Yes.

Stress is always a factor in any disease or medical condition. If you have a strained heart than additional stress could be enough to tip a person into a heart attack. High stress levels can also decrease a patient's will to live or just depress their body functions enough that they don't survive.

There is a famous story of a man who was given only 6 months to live because his cancer was terminal. He ignored his doctor's prognoses and started watching 3 Stooges films. He literally laughed himself into a longer life. He is dead now, but he bought himself a few years.

Stress Kills, plain and simple. It takes any problem that you might have and makes it worse. When we are under stress we have the "flight or fight response" adrenaline is released into the bloodstream and the body responds with an increased rate of activity, a lowered pain threshold and a more streamlined response from your body systems.

The situation becomes one of over-revving an engine. If you run an engine at 120% then you will be putting it under too much stress and increasing the chance for a failure. Your body is a complex machine and over-revving it only increases the chance of a breakdown. The longer you subject yourself to high stress the longer you are over-revving and running your engine too hard.

Worrying too much is another way of increasing your stress. If you are a very healthy person than you can function at that rate for a long time, but just like a NASCAR racer if you keep racing you are going to have a major failure. The older your engine is the worse such a failure could be.

Answer 2

Yes, it is true that worrying too much can make a person sick. I was having problems with vomiting and lack of sleep and various assorted body aches. I went to the doctor, and it turns out that it was all anxiety related. I've been taking medication, and feel 100% better.

I'm sure if someone was very stressed and worried that it could possibly cause a heart attack.

Answer 3

I believe that worrying does cause people to get sick. It causes things like stomach ulcers. I don't know if only people over 50 have heart attacks because of stress, but things like going to the doctors and getting blood pressure test could help.

Answer 4

You bet. Agreed: yes and yes. The person above starts to touch on the possible causes, but let me give you a few examples: The Japanese have identified a syndrome called ( Sp?) "taku tsubo"
We've long known about -- but have, mistakelenly, in my opinion, disregarded-- "neurasthenia". The Vedas -- look at chkras--- knew about the connection. Then add the more obvious sied effects of stress, behavior, etc.
THEN add the esoteric stuff. And I don't mean "exotic". It's actually the probable cause of the MOST diseases.

Great question needs more education.

Mark L. North Miami

Answer 5

Psychological stress i.e. anxiety,nervousness and irritability can be a killer ,when acting through the heart and its coronary arteries.

These factors act by causing the release of the hormone adrenaline and nor-adrenaline which can act directly upon the coronary blood vessels and causing spasm of these latter.

When coronary spasm occur, the heart may suffer a heart attack or go to cardiac arrest (sudden death). These are more likely to happen in patients who already has partial coronary blockages.

Of course, through the same pathway i.e. adrenaline release , the person may be sick i.e. reverse peristalsis of the stomach.

Answer 6

Sure, but hormone imbalances can do it, and it's a greatly untested, undiagnosed epidemic, hormonal imbalances as a group.

Answer 7

worrying too much can release chemicals into the system that are conducive to developing several ailments, even a heart attack

Answer 8

yes it is very true, Stress can make someone sick!