Researchers find link between burnout and irregular heartbeat
| Jan 15, 2020, 12:07 IST
Constantly feeling exhausted, depressed and irritable is not good for your well-being. These symptoms of burnout could increase your chances of developing a deadly form of irregular heart rhythm known as atrial fibrillation (AFib or AF), according to a new study.
Researchers say it is one of the common kinds of irregular heartbeat. AFib could also increase the risk of stroke and could also lead to the following symptoms:
* Shortness of breath
* Dizziness
* Chest pain
The study's findings, which were originally published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, suggests “exhaustion and poor coping abilities, along with depression symptoms, can contribute to atrial fibrillation,” said Dr David Friedman, director of Heart Failure Services at Northwell Health’s Long Island Jewish Valley Stream, in Long Island, New York, told a news portal.
“For people with an average amount of stress — if they don’t otherwise have some predisposition for atrial fibrillation — I don’t think that the stress alone is going to cause them to have atrial fibrillation,” Dr Nicholas Skipitaris, director of cardiac electrophysiology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, told a news portal. Skipitaris hopes a further investigation could examine whether “increased levels of inflammatory markers and increased stress somehow changes the electrical system of the heart to cause you to have AFib.”
Even though the risk of AFib due to burnout is small, researchers warn chronic stress can have an impact on the body in many other ways. “People who are at risk of feeling chronically demoralized, dejected, and with little ability to affect positive changes may find themselves at higher overall cardiovascular disease risk,” Friedman told a news portal.
Learning how to deal with stress can improve your health significantly. “People need to find ways of alleviating stress when they feel burnout,” Dr Matthew Budoff, a cardiologist at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine in Torrance, California, told a news portal.
Dr J Shah, a cardiologist in Boulder, Colorado, says an unwell mind can take a huge toll on the body and urges people to practise healthy habits. “Positive psychology interventions, such as increasing gratitude and forgiveness, lead to improvement in inflammatory markers and overall cardiovascular health,” Shah told a news portal.
Picture Courtesy: Google Images
Researchers say it is one of the common kinds of irregular heartbeat. AFib could also increase the risk of stroke and could also lead to the following symptoms:
* Shortness of breath
* Dizziness
* Chest pain
The study's findings, which were originally published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, suggests “exhaustion and poor coping abilities, along with depression symptoms, can contribute to atrial fibrillation,” said Dr David Friedman, director of Heart Failure Services at Northwell Health’s Long Island Jewish Valley Stream, in Long Island, New York, told a news portal.
“For people with an average amount of stress — if they don’t otherwise have some predisposition for atrial fibrillation — I don’t think that the stress alone is going to cause them to have atrial fibrillation,” Dr Nicholas Skipitaris, director of cardiac electrophysiology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, told a news portal. Skipitaris hopes a further investigation could examine whether “increased levels of inflammatory markers and increased stress somehow changes the electrical system of the heart to cause you to have AFib.”
Even though the risk of AFib due to burnout is small, researchers warn chronic stress can have an impact on the body in many other ways. “People who are at risk of feeling chronically demoralized, dejected, and with little ability to affect positive changes may find themselves at higher overall cardiovascular disease risk,” Friedman told a news portal.
Learning how to deal with stress can improve your health significantly. “People need to find ways of alleviating stress when they feel burnout,” Dr Matthew Budoff, a cardiologist at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine in Torrance, California, told a news portal.
Dr J Shah, a cardiologist in Boulder, Colorado, says an unwell mind can take a huge toll on the body and urges people to practise healthy habits. “Positive psychology interventions, such as increasing gratitude and forgiveness, lead to improvement in inflammatory markers and overall cardiovascular health,” Shah told a news portal.
Picture Courtesy: Google Images