Jun 24 2014 : Mirror (Pune)
Scientists explain stress-heart attack link
PARIS
AFP
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Scientists may have unravelled how chronic stress leads to heart attack and stroke: triggering overproduction of disease-fighting white blood cells which can be harmful in excess. Surplus cells clump together on the inner walls of arteries, restricting blood flow and forming clots that block circulation or break off and travel to other parts of the body.White blood cells “are important to fight infection and healing, but if you have too many of them, or they are in the wrong place, they can be harmful,” said study co-author
Matthias Nahrendorf of the Harvard Medical School in Boston. Doctors have long known that chronic stress leads to cardiovascular disease, but have not understood the mechanism.To find the link, Nahrendorf and a team studied 29 medical residents working in an intensive care unit. Their work environment is considered a model for chronic stress exposure given the fast pace and heavy responsibility they carry for life-and-death decisions.
Comparing blood samples taken during
work hours and off duty, as well as the results of stress perception questionnaires, the researchers found a link between stress and the immune system. Particularly, they noticed stress activate bone marrow stem cells, which in turn triggered overproduction of white blood cells, also called leukocytes. White blood cells, crucial in wound healing and fighting off infection, can turn against their host, with devastating consequences for people with diseases like atherosclerosis a thickening of artery walls caused by a plaque buildup.
Matthias Nahrendorf of the Harvard Medical School in Boston. Doctors have long known that chronic stress leads to cardiovascular disease, but have not understood the mechanism.To find the link, Nahrendorf and a team studied 29 medical residents working in an intensive care unit. Their work environment is considered a model for chronic stress exposure given the fast pace and heavy responsibility they carry for life-and-death decisions.
Comparing blood samples taken during
work hours and off duty, as well as the results of stress perception questionnaires, the researchers found a link between stress and the immune system. Particularly, they noticed stress activate bone marrow stem cells, which in turn triggered overproduction of white blood cells, also called leukocytes. White blood cells, crucial in wound healing and fighting off infection, can turn against their host, with devastating consequences for people with diseases like atherosclerosis a thickening of artery walls caused by a plaque buildup.
