Heart failure
Stress and heart failure
Although stress alone does not cause cardiovascular disease, chronic high stress levels, stress-induced increase in blood pressure, and how people cope with or manage stress do contribute to an increased risk of heart problems.
For instance, some people cope with stress by smoking, drinking too much alcohol, and overeating: all of which increase the risk of heart disease.
Studies are still being conducted to determine how it causes heart problems specifically, but a connection has been found between chronic (long-term, persistent) stress and an increased risk of heart disease (British Heart Foundation, 2025; Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Specialist Care, 2025).
People's ideas about stress and heart failure
Some people we spoke with thought that stress had played an important part in the build-up to their heart problems, while others felt it may have contributed, but was perhaps not as much of a contributing factor as smoking or having ‘the wrong genes’ were.
One man was of the opinion that stress was ‘a modern word' used by those who ‘wouldn't slow down’.
He lives a stress-free life and says that stress is a modern word.
He lives a stress-free life and says that stress is a modern word.
Anybody comes in here and gives me stress; they're back out the front door, 'cos I don't want it in here, you know what I mean. No need for it! So stress, no. It's a modern word, love! [laughs] It's a modern word for people who won't stop working for a couple of minutes! I'm sorry but I don't care. You know my parents grew up and if they had the stress that I see people having now, oh gosh, oh my gosh. Stress free man, you know, wherever, you know what I mean?
Many people were certain that stress had played a central role in the development of their heart problems and had weakened their heart over time.
Causes and results of stress with heart failure
Some people talked about feeling 'stressed' at work from having too much responsibility and too much to do.
Some said they worked too hard physically for many years or that they had worked in a poor environment where there was dust and artificial light.
Working anti-social hours and shift work were also thought to be highly stressful, and therefore detrimental to health and well-being.
Smoking is known to increase risk for heart disease, but a man we spoke with who experienced business and financial difficulties felt that stress had been as much to blame for his heart problems as smoking.
He believes his heart attack was caused more by stress than smoking.
He believes his heart attack was caused more by stress than smoking.
Going back was the same, led me to the same problem that I had when I first left. My ambition for when I left school was to go into my father's business but I fell out with his partner. Here I was going back into the same business with my father's partner. It lasted two years before, to the best of my knowledge from what people said, I was on the point of a nervous breakdown. I couldn't take it any more and I walked out.
But that stayed with me for quite some time the stress, or the feeling of stress I think I had in trying to keep the business going, to make ends meet because obviously I did go back on a very much lower salary. Still had a family to support, it was difficult. And I think the worry of my parents leaving the way they did when they did, plus the fact of marriage, children of my own, an awful lot went on in a very short space of time. So I think yes, it was stress, I'm not saying that is the case for everybody. It could be smoking too much, whatever, but in my opinion that's what caused mine.
Stressful life events such as divorce, separation, and financial pressures can cause emotional stress and were mentioned as factors that led to people’s health deteriorating.
Mahendra explains that divorced, hard work and rheumatic fever have all contributed to his ill health.
Mahendra explains that divorced, hard work and rheumatic fever have all contributed to his ill health.
So you think one of the things that had to do with your heart condition was your personal problems?
Personal life, problems yeah.
Apart from your personal domestic problems at the time do you have any idea of anything else that could have caused your heart problems?
No not particularly, no because I used to sometimes before the heart surgery I was working very hard. I was working 7 days a week and my body got very tired because I had a family at that time and I had to work for my family and that did, you know, slow me down because I was working literally 7 days a week to, you know, to make the ends meet you know because everything to be, you know, because the wife wasn’t working so I had to. I was only the bread earner so I had to work very hard for this. So this is the cause of it, you know.
But did you have rheumatic fever, for instance, when you were younger?
I was told and I asked my mum because I come from East Africa. I came in this country in ’72 and my mum told me that I did have rheumatic fever when I was a baby. And that’s what, you know, that thing, this is what the cause was about it, that I might have a rheumatic fever when I was very, very young. When I was born with that and I had a murmur.
One man said that his heart attack had been triggered by the shock of bereavement along with experiencing financial troubles.
He believes his heart attack was caused by emotional stress rather than high cholesterol.
He believes his heart attack was caused by emotional stress rather than high cholesterol.
They by-passed three of the coronary grafts, repaired the LV aneurysm but I'm, you know I'm left with the myocardial infarction and now it's about twenty percent of the muscle in the LV, in the left ventricle is dead. I mean it's infarcted, that doesn't function and that's what's caused the heart failure. That's the history of the disease and that's when I first knew about it. It definitely, I mean what I want to stress is the cause of my heart failure wasn't high blood cholesterol, it wasn't fat, I was a fit man, very active, just stress. So that's, that's a very important factor.
I can brief a little bit but like all sorts of things happened to my life in 19, between 1990 and 1992. I lost my father and brother in two weeks time, suddenly we lost all our money, all my father's savings in a bank that collapsed in 1991. My life changed dramatically from a spoilt teenager to you know someone who had to face all these, the reality of life which I didn't see before. It was, it was beyond description really it was tremendous. There's more of it, I mean there's more detail but just really it will just take you three hours to tell you about it.
People defined stress in different ways; for instance, one man said he ‘relished the stress’ of his challenging job, but found that ‘the hassles of everyday life’, such as running out of petrol or forgetting to collect his wife's dry cleaning, could be stressful enough to bring on palpitations.
He enjoys the stress of his work but finds everyday hassle stressful.
He enjoys the stress of his work but finds everyday hassle stressful.
Or it can be, or you get to the cleaners but you can't park the car and they've dug up half the car park so there's twice as many cars circulating around, you know the sort of thing? It happens but that is the sort of thing that, you know you start grinding your teeth and the palpitations can start. But the thing is, is not to do it and you learn not to do that. Before you didn't, one would give free range to one's thing but now you just say 'it doesn't matter'. It's a sort of mantra, 'it doesn't really matter'.
People also talked about feeling extremely anxious about themselves and their illness (see 'Bad days, anxiety and depression').
One man felt so anxious about being ill at night that he was reluctant to be alone. Another person said that worrying about things beyond her control could 'eat away' at her.
He can feel insecure and anxious at night unless his girlfriend is with him.
He can feel insecure and anxious at night unless his girlfriend is with him.
So you actually get a better night's sleep?
Yes
You're more relaxed if you're with someone?
With someone yes. This is very, very important because it's all kind of thinking in your mind, what would happen with this... I when I go to bed if I'm well, you know I get, make sure the telephone is there, make sure the spray is there and this nitrate spray, spray for the heart problem is there, and this sort of thing is a kind of security.
Last reviewed: August 2025.
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