Can Stress Cause a Stroke?
Here’s how chronic stress and anxiety may affect your risk of having a stroke.
Did you know that stress and anxiety may increase your risk of stroke? One stressed out day will not necessarily affect your stroke risk, but unmanaged chronic stress may. In fact, chronic stress and anxiety, in addition to high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes, may increase stroke risks.
Stress is a fact of life for many of us. Work demands, family issues and concerns about health and finances send stress levels soaring. While some of this stress is unavoidable, finding ways to manage it can help lower stroke risk and keep you healthier overall.
How Stress Affects Stroke Risk
“A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is completely or partially blocked due to a blood clot, clogged blood vessel, or bleeding in the brain,” says Adrian Burgos MD, neurologist at PIH Health. “When the amount of oxygen-rich blood your brain receives decreases, brain cells die. Paralysis, speech difficulties, balance, or memory issues and/or muscle weakness may occur as a result of cell death.” Some of these problems may be addressed with therapy, while others may be permanent. A stroke can be fatal if brain damage is severe.
Chronic stress and anxiety can increase inflammation in your arteries and throughout your body. Eventually, damage caused by inflammation can narrow or stiffen the vessels, decreasing blood flow to your brain. “Blood pressure also tends to increase when you are stressed,” says Dr. Burgos. “Stress can narrow or weaken blood vessels. This makes it easier for blood clots to form or for vessels to leak or burst, triggering a stroke.”
Even a slight increase in stress and anxiety levels may raise stroke risk, according to a research study published in the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke. Researchers followed more than 6,000 people over 22 years to determine how stress and anxiety affects the risk of stroke. Study participants who reported the highest stress levels were 33% more likely to have a stroke than those who felt less anxious or stressed. The greater the anxiety level, the higher the stroke risk, but even modest increases raised stroke risk.
How to Lower Stress in Healthy Ways
Managing stress is an important part of managing your health if you do it in productive and healthy ways. There are unhealthy ways some people manage stress, such as overeating, drinking, smoking, or doing drugs, but these may only add to your stroke risk. “An increase in ‘bad’ cholesterol causes plaque to accumulate in your blood vessels. This fatty, waxy substance not only narrows blood vessels but can break off and form clots that travel to the brain, causing a stroke,” says Dr. Burgos.
Although it is impossible to completely eliminate stress and anxiety, these steps may help you prevent it from taking over your life:
- Get plenty of exercise and rest
- Make healthy eating a priority
- Stay connected to friends and family
- Share your worries with a trusted relative, friend, or health professional
- Find something to smile or laugh about every day
- Spend more time on hobbies and things that bring you joy
- Try meditation, yoga, guided imagery, or deep breathing techniques
- Take time just for yourself every day, even if it is just a few minutes
- When you feel tension rising, take a few minutes to step back and put things in perspective
- Give yourself permission to say “no” to requests that will add to your stress
- Do not manage stress by drinking, smoking, or taking drugs
- Schedule an appointment with a mental health counselor if you feel overwhelmed by stress
Adrian Michael Burgos MD
Adrian Burgos MD, chose his specialty of neurology because he has always been intrigued by the complex, yet delicate, structure of the nervous system. “The human brain determines how we experience the world around us,” he explains. “The study of the human brain remains a vast and uncharted territory with countless opportunities to expand our understanding. With advanced technology, we now have tools to explore the brain, which will hopefully lead to new and improved treatments.” Dr. Burgos was chief resident at USC’s Department of Neurology and later served as a board member for the Out SMART Stroke Foundation. He earned several scholarships and grants in his medical studies for community service and academic merit. Dr. Burgos enjoys travel and has visited several countries. Growing up, he enjoyed playing soccer and still loves to follow professional soccer, football and basketball. In his free time, he enjoys exercising, listening to music, dancing and trying new restaurants.
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