Dealing with stress

We should take note that stress is not equivalent to stressful situations. While stressful situations may give rise to stress, your response to these situations partly determines your stress levels and how much they affect you.

"Personality determines how one reacts to stressful situations," Prof Ainsah says.

Take Type A personalities as an example. Besides being aggressive, highly motivated and competitive, people who carry the trait are also easily worried, anxious and unable to express their anger and dissatisfaction frankly.

"If you are a person with Type A personality, you need to modify your attitude and avoid (being) extremely perfectionist," Prof Ainsah advises.

It is alright to set high expectations, but one should be able to accept failures if the expectations are not met, she adds.

Workaholics, she says, should also ensure they have adequate time for rest and recreational activities.

Even with increasing evidence that stress does have a role to play in heart attacks, stress reduction has yet to be endorsed as a specific recommendation to prevent heart attacks.

The American Heart Association (AHA), in its short write-up on stress and heart attacks, says current data don't yet support specific recommendations about stress reduction as a proven therapy for cardiovascular disease.

The variation of stressors and the way they affect people contribute to the difficulty in designing studies to evaluate the effects of stress and the efficiency of stress reduction in preventing heart attacks.

Of those that have been carried out, the AHA says that studies using psychosocial therapies to prevent second heart attacks are promising and people who feel depressed, anxious or overwhelmed by stress after a heart attack or stroke should talk to their doctor or other healthcare professional.

Or, you could try to laugh more often.

"Research has demonstrated that laughter reduces stress through various mechanisms," Prof Ainsah says.

Laughter reduces stress by reducing levels of stress hormones (cortisol, noradrenaline) and releases anti-stress biochemicals such as endorphins.

On top of reducing blood pressure and pulse rates that were raised during stress, the reduction of stress hormones also allows the immune system to function properly.

Anti-stress biochemicals like endorphins, on the other hand, can elevate people's moods and make them perceive less stress.

If you're not sure you could lighten up your mood alone, surround yourself with happy people because just like laughter, moods are contagious too. Building a good support system can also go a long way in helping you handle stress better.

"Every one of us is bound to face stress, especially in the modern, challenging world," Prof Ainsah says.

"We may not be able to control our life stressors, but we can change the way we perceive stress."

Indeed, a positive state of mind could be your ticket to a healthy heart too.

This story was first published in The Star.