Nada

SHOULD STRESS BE CONSIDERED A KEY FACTOR LEADING TO HEALTH PROBLEMS?

The discovery of stress was during the 1930´s named then as the “General Adaptation Syndrome”, another name for the now known “stress syndrome”. Hans Seyle an Austro-Hungarian endocrinologist discovered stress and was also known by his studies of the effects of stress on the human body. He recognized the stress syndrome whenhe observed that every sick person that he was studying had almost the same symptoms (loss of appetite asthenia, tiredness, etc.) In despite of their diseases. (Posit Science Corporation, 2012) For Seyle the stress syndrome is a process in which the body confronts noxious agents from the exterior. “The body passes through three universal stages of coping. First there is an “alarm reaction”, inwhich the body prepares itself for "fight or flight." In the second stage, a resistance to the stress is built. Finally, if the duration of the stress is sufficiently long, the body eventually enters a stage of exhaustion, a sort of aging "due to wear and tear".” (Gerald G, n.d)
Therefore Seyle considered that several unknown diseases such as heart disease and mental & emotional disorders wereonly the result of physiological changes in the respective organs caused by stress. Seyle had some brand-new ideas about stress that helped to enhance a new medical area called “Biological Stress and its effects in human body”, which is a science that is still progressing nowadays to demonstrate the connection between stress and illness. Stress is a key factor that contributes to human diseaseleading primarily to depression and cardiovascular diseases. According to several researches in the area around 90% of diseases and illnesses are related to stress. (Gerald G., n.d)
The cardiovascular system is the system in the human body that includes the heart and blood vessels and makes sure that the bones and muscles are receiving the necessary amount of blood and oxygen. When you feel stressedout, some physiological responses happen that alter your circulatory system in various ways when your body produces adrenaline and cortisol which are enzymes that increases heart rate, tenses muscles, releases fats into the bloodstreams etc.The first way cardiovascular system responses to stress is “Heart rate increase”, a condition in which the heart increases their beats per a determined periodof time (tachycardia). This increase leads to abnormal rhythm of the heart and it can bring problems with the heart itself. In addition Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) and Ventricular tachycardia (VT) can be also experienced during this condition. The Supraventricular tachycardia implies the upper chambers of the heart and it is not so dangerous, nevertheless, Ventricular tachycardia (VT)implies de lower chambers of the heart and can lead to ventricular fibrillation, inefficiency of the ventricles and cardiac arrest. As we see this type of tachycardia can be life threatening. (Martin R, 2009)
Another way cardiovascular system responses to stress is “Increase blood pressure”,which is caused by the speed in which the blood flows. Consequently the body can present problems likehypertension, brain strokes when broken blood vessels bleed into the brain, an impaired vision because of the blood vessels in the eyes that can bleed and kidney damage because blood pressure narrow and thickens the blood vessels of the kidney. Heart attack and heart failure are other possible effects of increased blood pressure caused by stress. “Increased cholesterol and triglyceride” as another effectof stress in the cardiovascular system in which arteries grow thicker because of the fat released in the bloodstream and it leads to coronary artery disease. (Koenker H.,1994) “Stress increases catecholamines (hormones produced by the adrenal glands), and the increase of plasma catecholamines enhances platelet aggregation, lowers the threshold to cardiac arrhythmias, induces narrowing of the...