Meredith cannot seem to relax and is often angry, resentful, and prone to anxiety How might this affect her risk for cardiovascular disease?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

(Answers may vary.)People who are not able to relax place a constant low-level strain on the cardiovascular system that could manifest as heart disease. Higher levels of the hormones epinephrine and cortisol in highly stressed people may raise blood pressure, elevate blood glucose levels, and increase cholesterol by 20 to 50 percent.Chronic stress also causes an increase of the brain chemical neuropeptide Y that promotes storage of visceral fat, further increasing the risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, some cancers, and body-wide inflammation.In addition, when people are in a stressful situation, the coronary arteries that feed the heart muscle constrict, reducing the oxygen supply to the heart. If the blood vessels are largely blocked by atherosclerosis, arrhythmias or even a heart attack may follow. The research indicates that people who feel too much stress too often significantly increase their risk for a deadly heart attack.Anger, anxiety, and hostility also contribute to heart disease by increasing heart rate, blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol, and interleukin-6 (a marker for arterial inflammation). Angina risk increases following an outburst of anger and doubles the risk for a heart attack in the first 2 hours thereafter.