Chronic stress is a major contributor to heart disease. When you’re under stress, your body goes into “fight or flight” mode – an ancient survival mechanism designed to get you out of danger by either fighting or fleeing. In that stressful moment, the body activates the sympathetic nervous system and immediately releases adrenaline. Adrenaline increases heart rate, blood vessels constrict, pupils dilate, and blood pressure rises, preparing you to run or fight. However, in modern times, and today’s workplace, there is no ‘off switch’ and we cannot run away, due to busy work schedules, tight deadlines, increasing production pressures, and maintaining KPIs. When this response is activated day after day, your body doesn’t get a chance to recover. That’s when long-term stress begins to take a toll.
Cortisol – Its Role in Heart Disease
Cortisol is the body’s primary stress hormone and becomes a problem when chronically elevated. Long-term high cortisol levels contribute to:
- Increased blood pressure;
- Increased blood glucose, which can lead to insulin resistance;
- Inflammation throughout the body and especially the vasculature;
- Damage to the endothelial lining of arteries.
This last point is critical. The endothelial lining is the delicate lining of your blood vessels. In terms of heart disease, chronic stress causes inflammation in the inner lining of the coronary arteries and makes it easier for cholesterol to stick to this lining and form plaques. Over time, these plaques can harden (calcify) or rupture, causing heart attacks or strokes.
What Can Workplaces Do?
Employers are responsible for recognising stress not just as a mental health concern, but as a serious physical health hazard. Preventing cardiovascular disease means creating healthier, more supportive work environments where staff feel valued, heard, and safe.
At HeartCore Group, we deliver targeted workplace seminars that educate your team on not only how stress impacts cardiovascular health, but what is cardiovascular disease — and more importantly, what to do about it.
We tailor our sessions to suit your industry, whether it’s high-vis, high-pressure, or high-level. You’ll walk away with an understanding of heart disease, identifying the modifiable risk factors and practical tools to reduce stress, lower cardiac risk, and foster a more resilient, productive workforce. Visit the website www.heartcoreliving.com to enquire about your workplace seminar.
Let’s Change the Statistics, One Workplace at a Time
