The centers of the brain responsible for learning, memory and emotion may play a key role in putting the heart under strain in times of stress. UK scientists have shown that signals from these areas can destabilize the cardiac muscle of someone who already has heart disease. This, the research suggests, can trigger potentially fatal abnormalities in the heart's rhythms. The study is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It has long been known that stress triggers increased activity in the heart. This is designed to maximise blood flow, so that the body is primed to take quick action. However, it had been thought that this change was due to signals from more primitive areas of the brain. The results showed that activity in the 'higher level' regions of the brain, such as the cortex closely reflected the response measured in the heart.
Bonnie - this should bring more interesting findings in the future. However, we blogged this as a reminder that stress is something that should always be taken into account in your overall balanced lifestyle choices. In some individuals, you can be doing everything perfectly, but if you are under an inordinate amount of stress, it is often not enough to stay healthy.
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