My Dad died September 1st after a battle with chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (lung disease - never smoked). My parents were together 45 years, married 41 and were inseparable. They lost my sister a little more than 3 years ago (she was 27). My Mom died of a massive heart attack at home on December 8th (3 months and one week after my Dad). She had no known heart issues and had a physical last April.
So now my two siblings and I (37-27) are left shocked and just survived our first Christmas without our parents. Life throws some crazy curveballs but I have no doubt that my sister's death took years off both of my parents and after my Dad passed it was just too much for my Mom.
55
Correction to ““You can’t suture something that’s moving, and you couldn’t cut it because the patient would bleed to death,” Dr. Jauhar said.”
My former marine close combat instructor SGT Armand Reiser, exposed to the industrial solve. Contaminated toxic water at Camp Lejeune in his course, like too many marines and family, had an angiosarcoma from the toxin. However, worse it was of the R atrium! The 21st in the literature. Dr Valieae (spelling) the world class cardio surgeon at the University of Washington, slowed the beats down, and between beats cut out a 1” tumor and sewed in a bovine patch which was still working three years, three months later!
Some world class surgeons are remarkable and super fast and precise when necessary!”
But thank you for this excellent piece.
6
"The heart is the only organ that can move itself". I am sorry for your other muscles.
4
I firmly believe my heart attack came as the result of work related stress. I was losing an important account, my sales totals were off, I was entertaining other customers, and my boss and higher ups were on my case. Other than those factors, I had no reason to think I would have a heart attack -- exercise daily, decent diet, low cholesterol, etc. But stress, yes and to me it was the culprit.
35
The stress of contemporary life in America is killing us. We have less leisure time, expendable income and ease than our parents did in their prime. Here, social isolation and emotional stressors increase with age just when we absolutely need the increased support and proximity of family and friends. In our culture of perpetual youth, neglect, invisibility and uncertainty take their toll on our collective health.
50
Lost my dad when I was 12, massive heart attack & my mother a few years later to breast cancer. The stress of that tremendous loss for my mother surely was part of her demise. Psychoneuroimmunolgy solidly confirms that the heart and mind impact the physical body, including cardiovascular disease. That experience with the medical world early, where no one asked about stressors, no one had time for the story, pointed me to naturopathic medical school because I knew NDs prioritize spending time with people, treating the whole person and to understanding how the psycho-emotional elements of life impact a person.
27
And more and more evidence points to early trauma and stress in childhood increases the risk for heart disease and other disease in adulthood.
40
I can attest to my own personal experience with both Heart Attack and Stroke that emotional state played a key role in those occurrences. It is impossible to segregate the unhealthy behaviors that stress inculcated, however one Heart Attack was brought upon within days of my wife having left me. Even the genetic component of heart disease may reflect the stress and stress reactions of my parents, and relatives. In summary Mental and Spiritual health have played as much a part in my physiological well being as anything that can be shown on a MRI or Blood Test.
24
Psychological-mindedness was banished from medical education & derided by 'real doctors' for years. Now it is being (re-)discovered.
States of despair, rage, anxiety and unnamed conflicts are embodied, with profound physiological consequences. Cynicism about psychotherapy and the reliance on 'quick fix' use of medication have never been clinically sound. Finding a way to resolve psychic pain & suffering takes skill and varies enormously from individual to individual so 6 visit (by manual) treatments are insufficient.
The major obstacle is often that a patient hears the cardiologist recommend psychotherapy and believes it is a brush off- a minimization of 'real' cardiac disease. The referral can only be useful if the cardiologist has genuine conviction.
It is helpful to tell a patient with CAD that if psychotherapy could reduce the risk of M.I. by 15%...wouldn't it be worth a try ? The reality of by pass surgery should be understood as rather grim in comparison and a last resort.
11
so being single is where it's at? how about a high stress, little sleep, to the border on blood pressure for it to become hypotension, but my TSH is to be framed on the wall, as is my BMI. Then, no one will dance with me or step forward unless, in my experience, they're a pig of a human being. Indeed, as a slight framed single professional woman I am averse to going out with anyone in order to protect myself.
8
As if we have lost the wisdom of “X died of a broken heart”
18
Modern medicine--if you are lucky enough to have a doctor--consist of talking to someone typing into a computer as fast as he/she can while you try to explain what's going on with you.
Then maybe a quick check of your vitals until they run off to the next person.
I would love it if they really listened, but they don't have the time.
47
@Joe try naturopathic medicine, NDs are trained to listen!
3
I wonder how the stress of having madman djt in the White House will effect the health of all of us who are daily assaulted by his words, thoughts and deeds.
I hope someone is studying that.
133
The very definition of "first-world problems"
5
@Claire I wonder that on an hourly basis.
21
Anyone interested in this article may appreciate reading the 2016 book Human Heart Cosmic Heart, author Dr. Cowan (currently in San Francisco). Similar point that the primary cause of heart problems is stress -- dysregulation of the nervous system, with far too much activity in the sympathetic ("fight-or-flight") part and little or none in the parasympathetic ("relax") part. Most competitive, "type-A" persons are hard-wired to be in fight-or-flight mode. Uncontrollable stress. The book includes quite a bit of fascinating science. Also a few "extreme" open-minded analyses, to me quite worthwhile to think about.
20
A few years ago, in the city of Waltham, a man dropped dead on the spot when a police officer told him his son had been killed in a car accident.
Surely we all know by now that stress is a killer.
32
A year after my husband passed away unexpectedly from cancer - between diagnosis and death was a mere six months - I had a heart attack despite having had no symptoms or warnings or signs of the health conditions that would indicate the potential for a heart attack.
Was it stress or a broken heart? I'll never know.
56
Sometimes we need to let go of our connections to certain individuals or groups. Our expectations of them, or their expectations of us, are more than we can bear. The relationships work for awhile, and then one day they don't. These things cause us a lot of stress and anxiety and we trudge on thinking we're morally wrong to trust our feelings. Let go of it, drop the rock, whatever, whoever it is.
97
@Tom J
So true. We need to be reminded that suffering in relationships is not something we "must do" to be a "good person." In fact, it is hurting us, and just may kill us.
Thanks for the reminder.
17
I know there have been articles about this but I haven't seen it mentioned yet in the comments. Being in Nature — away from people, ideally — can be a huge stress reliever. I find that just standing alone in a grove of trees and simply breathing immediately brings my stress down. (I believe the current term is "forest bathing.") I feel blessed to live on 300+ acres in rural Alabama. But even when I lived in the high-pressure world of Silicon Valley, there were hiking trails in the nearby foothills where I could walk that gave me the same stress relief.
111
In response to many comments...yes several factors contribute to heart disease. Genetics, lifestyle, diet all play a part. But you can’t ignore the contribution stress makes. It is often the trigger. And doctors are more inclined to address the problem with well-understood solutions, medication and surgical intervention, while dismissing stress. In my experience doctors prescribed triple-bypass and lifelong medication and “bypassed” my asking for help in managing extreme stress. It’s pretty obvious to me at least, that emotions are at the seat of good heart health.
20
Good article and the Physician no doubt is spot on with issues he sights as being a contributor to heart disease. I would also believe as a senior having experienced my own immediate and extended family genetics must be involved. As for stress, what often younger folks have no insight into decisions they make when setting out as adults is simply said what they are getting into. Our highly productive society and base capitalism model is stressful. Marriage , kids, a career, and all that that entails is difficult to manage. Stats also show that if your born into poverty there is a good chance you may remain in that demographic. Physicians we see as we mature have little time for interaction with patients their work place model simply amazes me. Obvious their rat race is one of the worse .No visit time, test's, and medication follow. Back in 3 months as in your on your own. Pays to be involved, and learn about your self, as best you can.
17
Then there’s the Möbius strip of having a heart problem, which makes you stressed, which makes your heart worse, which makes you more stressed etc etc. I find sleep to be an essential tool for cardiovascular issues day-to-day. Simply put, night’s I do not sleep well tend to be followed by a day of breathlessness. A physical stress, I suppose.
Work & home stress are both other factors I’ve experienced. I got irregularities at times of peak stress, and one time asked to leave early due to dizziness. This all gradually got worse and worse until I was obliged to throw the towel in and retire thirty years early.
However, whilst some may be able to modify work hours/intensity, the Catch-22 is that in the modern world of job insecurity geared towards the demands of The Company over the individual, ensuring heart health is very difficult. Bosses want everyone to give “over and above”, work extra hours, do weekend overtime, multitask, attended meetings etc etc etc. Keeping pace (in the interests of my career prospects) were what drove me into the metaphorical wall. But businesses won’t admit that or take responsibility. If you love your job and are keen to do well and get noticed, you end up taking risks you don’t realise until things start affecting you.
33
@Mat
Jungle of the fittest .Some survive, many drop out. One of our major societal drum beats is productivity.Those who proper and are recognized are the best producers. Just last night 12 plus young folks shot . Where is next is a new stress point.
6
@Mary-Sounds like my parents situation. Interestingly, my father was willing to go to a marriage counselor but not my mother. I think it killed her. Her depression worsened after she retired, and she died at 73 of cancer. Dad lived another 10 years, dating occasionally, wanting to remarry. He never did.
4
Women physicians (yes, I am generalizing, but I believe this to be true) have known this for decades. The data suggesting patients of female physicians do better indicates it’s truth.
Two impediments: physicians can’t bill for the time it takes to listen about their patients’ relationships. There is no code for empathy. Should it be part of what physicians do? Of course! But business people create the world in which physicians practice. Business people only care about billable work product. RVUs.
Women physicians listen anyway. I wonder if this explains, in part, why women physicians earn less, even when correcting for pregnancies and family care. We need a new business model for the practice of medicine. Until we have this, little will change.
Second: reiterates what others have stated, that our culture is designed to literally work its people to death. Capitalism has no place in the practice of medicine. When we can vote out the lunatics who support “right to work” claptrap, those who are opposed to universal healthcare, those who are opposed to a living wage, then we will be able to address relationships and the life of the heart once more.
77
@Mindful Statements above such as "The data suggesting patients of female physicians do better indicated it's truth" are meaningless. Do better at what? I am a woman and I don't find a difference between male and female doctors; rather, it is very individual traits that make a great doctor.
11
@Mindful
Agree . Interacted with numerous physicians in my 80 years. Female Physicians for the male, are always better to interact with . Females have a sense of compassion, even if a Physician, who can't outwardly show it.
11
@Mindful In a lifetime of dealing with doctors, I've found gender to be a complete non-issue when it comes to listening, with my best and worst experiences coming from both. The best ones come from the same system as the worst ones.
7
What about when you and your spouse of 35 years constantly have conflict every day over life’s mundane issues and fight constantly. It has been become a huge strain to me with tremendous stress/anxiety that I do thinking is starting to affect my mental and physical health and life expectancy. How do I get help in Boston? I don’t know how to get out before it Kills me.
23
@Mary: The January 30, 2017 issue of Boston Magazine (available online at bostonmagazine.com) has an article: “Seven Low-Cost Counseling Services Near Boston.” That could be a start. I’ve been in your shoes; it is debilitating and destructive of your self-esteem. Good luck.
49
@Mary:
I am telling you a little story about our biggest reason of stress: A well to do man comes to a ascetic, a man of wisdom who lives around the town, for counseling
"I am not happy" the man says. "Bring all your wealth to me tomorrow and I will make you happy" replies the ascetic. The next day the man does as was told and places everything in front of the ascetic. "Now close your eyes and do not open them till I tell you". The man obeys. Few minutes turned in too many and there was no call. The man hasitatingly opened his eyes. Well the ascetic is gone .. with all his wealth. The man is devastated. He is crying, he is cursing himself and he starts to run about frantically in search of the ascetic. He kept on looking but to no avail. There is no end to his sadness. And in his dispair for one last time he goes to the same place where the ascetic met him first. And .... to his immense joy and relief he found both the ascetic and all his wealth. He has never been more happier in his life. "So I have made you happy" says the ascetic.
Moral: We are sad, anxious, stressed because we carry a SENSE OF LOSS.
If you can do three things that may do wonders to your lives:
1. Feel that you are important.
2. Feel that you are valuable.
3. And, That there is nothing to lose so stay happy.
Finally a small medical advice:
Regular light breathing and walking increases the serotonin (happiness hormone) levels and that again do wonders for cardiac health.
24
@Mary, your situation sounds a lot like my own, constant bickering, negative attitude towards life in general, and certainly goes out of his way to make me as miserable as he is; true to the adage - 'misery loves company.' I like to think of myself as resilient. strong enough to overcome any challenge or predicament, even verbal abuse and occasional temper tantrums. I attribute much of his obnoxious behavior to chronic health issues plaguing him since he was much younger, and worsened over the years as he ages, resulting in poor quality of life for him and for me. No social activities, family gatherings or dining out, his health issues have forced us to live a life of self-imposed isolation for the most part, so we're on our own. It is what it is, and I just deal with it.
7
A big cause of dangerous stress in the work-life balance of Americans comes from the fact that the country is run in the interest of corporations, which don't care about the well-being of people. It's all about the corporate bottom line. Just look at the statistics - the US lags behind everybody else in the developed world on things like vacation time, work hours, parental leave, sick leave, child care, college tuition and all kinds of other things necessary to maintain one's sanity and overall health. People are worked to death, literally, with no compassion or concern for either their physical or their mental health. There is very little support, and the little there is is constantly under attack from the right. But people are not robots, nor are they islands. They need support, understanding, justice, rest, vacation, medical care. Americans aren't sicker than other developed nations solely because of junk food (though that's pretty big, too). They are sicker because they are under constant stress, trying to survive on their own in a hostile society that is not a society at all, but a collection of lone warriors. Until we start taking care of and supporting each other as an actual society, investing in structural social support, the stress isn't going to magically go away with ten minutes of yoga. And we'll keep dying unnecessary deaths.
194
@DH
Agree, our constant drumbeat is productivity at all cost. Note it is always a key government stat they harp about. Best countries sighted for well being, are small populated homogenous populations, with very high takes and cradle to grave healthcare and education. Our country cannot adopt those traits it wouldn't work. Post WW 2 even though the Japanese often worked themselves to death they remain a Japanese populated society and are living a long time. Genetics is key as well. Modern medicine spend most effort on drugs and testing.
3
@DH A most informative comment. I'd add to it that the stressful lifestyle foisted upon Americans by their corporate masters leads directly to eating junk food. I'm always amazed how many hard chargers say they're going to "grab" breakfast, lunch, or dinner at some point of their work day, as if they're pigs at a trough. Have you ever noticed that when you have enough time off to relax you start eating more healthful food?
14
Having been laid off numerous times and now getting by as self employed and with a low paying part-time job, I have solved this particular problem about health care. If I find I'm sick i,e., have cancer or heart problems I will do nothing. This life has been far too stressful and I really have no intention of stretching it out for any reason. I'm too old for anyone to hire too young to actually retire and expect to lose Medicaid next year as my income I actually into the 30s. That means there will be very little left for retirement should I live that long and I really don't care if I do or if I don't.
4
Very interesting article. Thanks for the same. I agree 100 % with the writer and Dr. Jauhar as far as the impact of emotional stress on heart is concerned. To many knowledge women could withstand the loss of their husbands longer than those men, who lost their wives. Has it got any biological factor in this regard ?
4
@Sivaram Pochiraju
Women handle stress better, as they take on so many roles, they often learn to manage the stress of Marriage, raising kids, ( very stressful), and most willingly want to work, or have to work. Lastly women often become caretakers of their parents. As a retiree I learned females have much better friendship associations men are usually just not that interested.Jerry Seinfeld quipped it the best." My dad work to 65 got a gold watch , moved to Florida , and complained about the government" . "He didn't want to, but thats the law". Funny, but spot on.
7
@Dan Green
I cared for my aging father for many years until his mental and physical health began to decline. Dad's still kickin' in fairly good shape, though wheelchair bound and just celebrated his 99th B-Day, (tough, old WWII Vet). Making decisions, juggling his depleting finances over the last couple of years and having to sell his home to pay for exorbitant nursing home fees was extremely stressful and caused many sleepless nights, as does his continual but inevitable decline into Dementia.
1
My entire family are/were nervous wrecks. High strung workaholics the lot of us. Father passed away at 99. Mother passed away at 94.
Elder sister going strong at 86, elder brother works and still going strong at 84. I’m 66, high strung and riddled with stress. I think genetics trumps everything.
42
@New World The question is not whether "genetics trumps everything" but rather what would the quality and duration of life be for members of your family if they weren't "nervous wrecks" and "workaholics".
5
@New World
I do to. Your family mirror images mine. In my case, raised as a kid on a German diet of German immigrant farmers, I should have died at 39. Am now 80, pipes aren't clogged, but as most in family, have high blood pressure. Especially now that the bar has been redone and set very low. Equals more and stronger meds. Had prior numbers under control. New recommendations brought some new 25 million as candidates for drug. For years Doctors would tell me your doing fine , no longer.
5
I'm certain that the continual stress of waking up every day in Trump America is taking time off my life. My physical and mental health is definitely suffering.
223
@Paul Presnail Best solution: Turn off the screens.
8
@Paul Presnail
Immigrate, or wait for HRC to take another run at it. Be cautious however. Bill had by pass surgery living with her and eating lots of Pizza all hours of night, or cheeseburgers . He was a jogger as well.
The writer of this article and modern medical science is only now discovering what Ayurveda, the ancient Science of Medicine from India has known for thousand of years. That a man or women’s psychological and emotional make up play a significant role in their overall health.
Ayurveda classifies individuals in 3 broad categories and both physical and psychological traits are taken into account in this classification. The diseases/ailments are typically unique to each of these 3 categories. It is about time we do more research in what Ayurveda has to offer than waste time and resources on the trial and error methodology of so called modern medicine which is heavily influenced by interest groups like pharmaceutical companies.
33
@Arjun Mehta
Good points. The medical profession concentrates on test's and prescribing drugs. The profession gives genetics lip service. Why, because their profession's model has no time included for interaction. Eleven seconds before your interrupted throws the start of interaction way of kilter. Count on leaving the interaction with many of your questions not addressed . You'll never get to them.
1
I know medical researchers have studied telomeres, which have pieces that break off when we're under stress, and the studies show that we die when too much of the telomeres have broken off.
I wonder if there's some correlation of the telomeres and the heart...
18
I pour my heart into my work; it’s who I am. I can’t be other. I did that for three years at a major tech corporation, only to be laid off before a merger. The day after I was told of my lay-off I had a heart attack. While there was muscle damage, the doctor did not find any blockage. This was stress, pure and simple. I later discovered that symptoms I’d had for eight years were undiagnosed variant angina, which first appeared during another extremely stressful period (medical bankruptcy).
Since 2000 I’ve seen many layoffs, experienced five, experienced ch. 13 (a horrible five years), etc., etc. I meditate, I eat anti-inflammatory food, I do what I can to look after myself. But how can anyone be a household breadwinner and not have major stress in this society? The rug may be pulled out from under you at any moment, and all the other times that already happened steal any chance of saving to survive the disaster of the moment.
155
@Laid off and broke
This is from financial stress...….so yes this is stress.....
being afraid everyday like a freelance person who has developed a thick skin,perhaps you should relocate to
iess expensive neighborhood...….try not to live in fear but believe that the Universe will help you...Being Fearful and Anxiety ridden will make less effective in life and paranoid...
7
@Laid off and broke
And now there is CNN and the recent mid terms, as if the world was endangered. Like or dislike Donnie, if his medical reports are authentic I don't know how he does it. Up late tweeting, over weight, and loves fast food. On the job everyday.
2
@Laid off and broke
I just wanted to send moral support to "@Laid off and broke." Your situation sounds very difficult. I hope you can find some peace, and that as a society, we can collectively find a way to do better to support one another.
25
my fiancé of 13 years died suddenly over a year ago. i am now 66. despite staying busy, connecting with friends, volunteering, exercising, taking care of my elderly mom, I am still devastated. yeah, I would say I am heart broken. but if I go to the doctor what could she do? what is the cure? how do you manage profound grief?
81
i lost my love of my life, my twin.it almost broke me,and continues daily to try. my heart is no longer in my body, it seems. time lessens pain , but oh, the heart remembers.
29
@marla c Dear Marla, Six years ago after a lengthy and devastating illness, my spouse of 40 years committed suicide. I was very fortunate to have been already seeing a psychiatrist at that time. A mental health professional or other experienced counselor might help you bear the burden of your sorrow. The grief and sorrow are a necessary part of the recovery and adjustment after a profound loss. I hope that you, as I have, will find the help that suits you best as you carry on.
57
@marla c
Remember the old saying, I do as my mentor told me early on. If you want a friend get a dog. Try it they need care but they really give back.
11
I'm a Chinese Medicine student and the relationship of the emotions to the heart is talked about extensively. It's exciting to see the idea explored in a 'mainstream' or modern fashion.
49
@Courtney
Hope you stick with it, after you enter the rat race.
3
"You need to get your relationships right." Words spoken to me by cardiologist who cared for me 17 years ago after a heart attack. I couldn't shake the memory, and the kindness with which she spoke. So I began.
136
As a critical care nurse specializing in cardiac care I frequently meet people after a heart attack who are completely dumbfounded as to how this could have possibly happened to them. They eat right, exercise, etc. I try to help them analyze ways their lifestyle stress level could affect them and their health. The answers are not always obvious: are you a people pleaser? Have a hard time saying "no?" Type A personality for which everything must be just so? These are all intrinsic stressors that many of us may not even recognize in ourselves or as harmful. It's very empowering to say "no." what about the self imposed to do list? Does it really need to be done TODAY? while it is important and responsible to be an informed citizen- it's ok to sometimes turn the news off. Our health may very well demand it.
160
@Jennifer Deutsch as a takotsubo survivor, I wish I could click ‘recommend’ ten times.
18
@Jennifer Deutsch This is the basis of Gabor Mate’s “When the Body Says No, exploring the dress-disease connection”. A great book! I have seen that there are 2 no’s - the ability to say no and the ability to receive another person’s no. If someone cannot do both, the stress impact is significant!
12
@Jennifer Deutsch
Good advice . I avoid CNN for starters.
2
An interdisciplinary model with a health psychologist (or clinical psychologist) in the medical setting will surely let the patients talk for more than 11 seconds without interrupting.
18
@Alejandro Domínguez
Doubt it, the profession's model is firmly in place.
2
“Stress” is ill defined and changing one’s long term life style isn’t easy, but important.
As a stably retired nine year vegan, I was surprised when I developed exertional chest pain this July. A stress test in August was immediately followed by insertion of stents.
I am entering the last two weeks of an Ornish post cardiac program now.
His program emphasizes “stress management” as possibly the most important factor in prevention and reversal of pathology.
As I was 76 years of age before developing symptoms, I have been luckier than many. Still, I would like to live out the rest of my time without unnecessary pain and limitations.
An effective way to help people develop and maintain “good” lifestyles from early in life, would be a blessing for many of us.
Stephen Rinsler, MD
35
@Stephen Rinsler
Good advice. At 83 I have increasingly tried my best, after a very very stressful long career, but I know genetics has been key. Was also fortunate to have an excellent mentor, who prepared me for most that occurred . The problem many young people have is, they are not tuned to a prior generation.People over 50 are yesterdays news as they say.
8
The role that emotions play in all aspects of mind, body, and brain is still weirdly ignored. Tools like Change Triangle which explain how people can work with core emotions like anger, sadness, fear and joy to create health and neurobiological flow or conversely mental and physical disease need to be part of basic education. Core emotions are automatic, reflexive “programs” that are evoked by the environment and they are body-based, affecting every organ in the body via primarily the vagus nerve. Whether we validate and work with emotions or bury them makes all the difference in our physical health. Emotion education is a public health issue.
23
Having patients talk to cardiologists about the patients' emotional life is a fraught exercise. I would rather die in a ditch than talk to a cardiologist I dealt with briefly. He had all the empathy of a stone. I wonder if specialist doctors as a group are naturally inclined to empathize.
51
@Snip
Don't procrastinate get a new doctor.
5
What jumped out at me from this article was the analysis of clinical encounters study that showed, “On average, patients get about 11 seconds to explain the reasons for their visit before they are interrupted by their doctors”. I was further shocked to learn that only one in three doctors give patients adequate time to describe their health concerns. The ethical guideline of beneficence requires physicians to promote patients’ best interests. How can a doctor effectively ascertain a patients’ best interests in 11 seconds?
Dr. Jauhar’s admonition that cardiologists must give more attention to emotional and psychological issues that play a roll in heart disease is in line with countless other studies that demonstrate how loneliness, poverty, and work stress adversely affect patient health. Heart disease is still the leading cause of death for adults. To continue to rely on technology for treatment while ignoring ongoing stressors that influence heart disease does a great disservice to the patient. I especially liked Dr. Jauhar’s “newfound appreciation for letting patients talk about the things that are bothering them so he can understand their emotional lives”. By addressing and modifying emotional stress, physicians can help patients achieve better long-term outcomes.
55
@Jessica Good point. I was pleasantly surprised last week, when, upon listing my health woes on a visit with a new internist, she straight out asked "are you depressed?". They all should ask that. As it turns out, I am a bit - nothing extremely serious, but enough that perhaps it's contributing to my health issues.
21
@Jessica, you hit the nail on the head. Eleven seconds of discussion time is not going to help a patient in the long run. So what’s a busy cardiologist to do? If the doctor is not willing or able to spend the time like Dr. Jauhar is now doing, maybe she/he can work with a support staff. Have emotional and psychological issues explored during a pre-visit interview by a trained staff member. Include a therapist skilled in stress management techniques for post-visit followups. Add in another person whose job it is to coordinate educational info and pass it on to the patient (printed, online, etc.). Sounds like a lot, but maybe the next generation of cardiologists will be more open minded willing to learn from past mistakes.
7
@Jessica
Good points Jessica. I determined after my 80 years on this planet, the Medical profession working model is a flawed design . No time for patients is a key ingredient. Order test, prescribe meds, and see you in 3 months. Forgot allow an hour or so in a waiting room with magazines from 2016.
4
"The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of." [Pascal]
59
In the late 1960's and early 1970's there was a study/discipline called psychoneuroimmunology. It looked at the different chemicals in blood samples from people suffering from long periods of guilt, fear and anger. Results did show that long periods of suffering with these mindful triggers did cause damage to the heart.
It's been too many years since I first read about this in college, but it stuck with me.
Jim
34
While Karl Pearson was studying headstones, William Sealy Gosset was studying beer.
"Broken-hearted," is a phrase of poets that pre-dates such scientific explorations. Good luck 'quantifying' its effects on death.
10
There is years worth of literature available on how work stress can increase the risk of disease, including cardiovascular disease. Look up the Demand Control model for a start.
For this to really change we need business and working life in the US to change. Yoga and meditation are a start, but they are not treating the cause of the stress. And for some, they become just another thing to do while already trying to balance work and personal responsibilities.
80
I agree 100% with Dr. Jauhar that emotional health plays a vital role in one's heart health. My father died at age 56 of massive heart attack. I remember as young man that he was always extremely stressed about his business. By all accounts he was a very successful businessman but never learned to handle the self imposed stress.
I am now 70 with a healthy heart and stress-free life! I learned that even as a successful researcher and a teacher, I was putting too much stress a on myself to accomplish even more. So I took a drastic action - retire early at age 60 and give up all attachment to my professional life! That was the best decision of my life. I am healthy, happy and stress-free!
71
@Jaque
You and I are on the same page. My father died at 71 of heart failure, despite having received world class cardiac care during the prior 20 years. He experienced a lot of trauma in his childhood and never learned how to be comfortable feeling vulnerable and expressing his emotions. He was a workaholic. I hope to have a healthy heart when I am 70. I've taken a job that allows for work-life balance and I plan to retire early.
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My mother died of a heart attack 6 months after my father died. They had been married over 50 years.
Carrie Fisher's mom died of a heart attack days after Carrie's heart attack.
I think this is probably underreported and needs as Dr. Jauhar suggests to be flagged as a very treacherous time in a person's life.
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@Jaque
My father a Pediatrician in the 50s, chain smoked, had 7 children and was married to an alcoholic. Almost died at 45, then died at 49 of a heart attack.
I gave up smoking in my early 30s, started exercising and put a lot into having happy marriage. Now near 79.
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