Vital exhaustion, which is the combination of fatigue, increased irritability, and feeling demoralised may raise a healthy man or woman’s risk of first-time cardiovascular disease by 36 per cent, reports a study. “Our study shows vital exhaustion is an important risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease in otherwise healthy people,” said lead author Randy Cohen from Mount Sinai St Luke’s and Mount Sinai Roosevelt hospitals, reported IANS.
“Loss of vitality thus adds to a growing number of psychosocial risk factors that have now been linked to the development of cardiovascular disease, including anxiety, depression, and social isolation,” Cohen said. “In our increasingly busy lives, we’re just under a lot of stress. And I think, when that stress is left unchecked for a period of time, it can start to eat away at our psychological and physical well-being,” he added, according to consumer.healthday.com.
The researchers investigated the relationship between vital exhaustion and first-time heart disease in 11 prospective studies that involved 60,610 people without heart disease. The studies had an average follow-up of 6.5 years. “The identification of vital exhaustion as a coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factor appears timely,” study co-author Alan Rozanski from Mount Sinai St. Luke’s and Mount Sinai Roosevelt hospitals pointed out. “As society becomes increasingly fast paced, there is an increasing tendency for people to overwork while cutting back on sleep, exercise, and the rest and relaxation we all need to renew ourselves and prevent the factors that cause vital exhaustion,” Rozanski explained.
These results add to an already large body of evidence showing that stress and fatigue can affect a person’s heart health, said Dr Richard Becker, chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Health and Disease and director of the Heart, Lung and Vascular Institute at the University of Cincinnati. “Clinicians tend to focus on physical risk factors like cholesterol and high blood pressure. In addition to those very important things, there are other considerations that must be in place to really address a person fully,” Becker said.
The findings were presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2014 in Chicago, Illinois.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 19th, 2014.
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