Stress increases your risk of heart attack and stroke

Despite convincing evidence linking psychosocial factors such as chronic and acute stress to the risks of cardiovascular disease, there remains a lack of focus on stress reduction for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. When the body is stressed, a large number of biological and chemical processes can occur that put the body at increased risk of CVD. Chemical mediators are released, which cause the prolonged activation of the sympathetic nervous system and increase heart rate and blood pressure, which puts a lot of strain on the heart and cardiovascular system. Over time, the strain on the system leads to deterioration of the heart muscle, arteries and vessels. Chemical mediators can also result in sleep deprivation, elevated cortisol levels, elevated insulin and blood glucose levels and increases in ghrelin, the hormone that increases appetite.
Stress increases the release of hormones like cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline, which act to increase the heart rate and contractile volume, as well as constricting arteries in the gastrointestinal tract