---
title: "Stress And Your Heart: How To Manage Stress"
description: Everyone reacts to stress differently, and how you react can impact the chance of developing serious health issues, including heart disease.
image: https://wellness.totalaccessmedical.com/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202022-01-24%20at%202.03.52%20PM.png
---

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# Total Access Medical - Direct Primary Care Blog

# Stress And Your Heart: How To Manage Stress

Posted by [Total Access Medical](https://wellness.totalaccessmedical.com/blog/author/total-access-medical) on Feb 13, 2025

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![](https://wellness.totalaccessmedical.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202022-01-24%20at%202.03.52%20PM.png?width=292&height=278&name=Screen%20Shot%202022-01-24%20at%202.03.52%20PM.png)Everyone reacts to stress differently, and how you react can impact the chance of developing serious health issues, including heart disease.

Your body's response to stress may include muscle aches and headaches, back strain, stomach pains, and other physical symptoms. Stress also can make you tired, disturb normal sleep patterns, and leave you irritable, forgetful and out of control. When stress is constant, your body remains in high gear for days or weeks, which can lead to more significant health problems.

Periods of excessive and pervasive stress can result in direct effects on health, such as high blood pressure and higher cholesterol levels. Indirect impacts, such as increasing behaviors and habits that worsen physical health and functioning, include smoking, overeating or engaging in less physical activity.

Can managing stress reduce or prevent heart disease?

Managing stress levels always is a good idea when it comes to your overall health. Studies are underway looking more closely into how managing stress reduces risk for heart disease given the direct effects of stress on health. Patients who have experienced a heart attack or stroke and feel depressed, anxious or overwhelmed by stress should contact their health care team for additional help.

Beginning the stress management process

Reducing stress can take many forms. Understanding your triggers and identifying your stress symptoms can start the stress management process. Then you'll be able to recognize and modify triggers of heightened stress levels. 

Additional tips to help combat stress

- Exercise regularly.
- Challenge negative and catastrophic thoughts.
- Avoid smoking and caffeine.
- Eat foods with high nutritional value.
- Maintain a healthy weight.

In some situations, medicine can help. However, when it comes to stress, medication often is used as a last resort. Instead, look to manage the stress you are experiencing using relaxation or other learned stress reduction techniques. Also, make sure you're not confusing stress for an anxiety disorder, which is a separate condition you should discuss with your health care team.

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