It is very important for everyone to manage their stress levels and keep them under control, but it has been discovered that it is even more important for those recovering from health conditions, especially heart attacks.
Women tend to have a harder time recovering from heart attacks than men, and analysis has found that this could be related to the differing stress levels between men and women.
Although anyone can become stressed, women tend to become stressed more and quicker, but naturally overcome it better than men, who tend to become less stressed overall, but don’t deal with it as well in the long term.
This is amplified by the stresses of family life that tend to fall on women, who are more prone to becoming anxious about it.
Research led by Xiao Xu at Yale University found that women aged 18-55 who had experienced a heart attack had a significantly higher level of stress on average than their male counterparts. They also had a worse rate of recovery one month after the cardiac event.
The women analysed were also found, along with high stress levels, to have higher rates of diabetes, lung disease, cancer and stroke.
A senior cardiac nurse commented on the study. She said: “The study suggested that high levels of stress in young and middle-aged people at the time of their heart attack resulted in a worse recovery.”
“It also suggested that women have a worse recovery than men and perceive greater levels of psychological stress.
“Anyone who is struggling to cope with high levels of stress should talk it through with their GP.” In addition, they can seek out courses that teach stress management techniques.
