Stress is a protective and adaptive response to external threats. Whether from sudden shock (acute) or ongoing events (chronic), stress produces a physiological response known as the fight-or-flight response. This response releases the hormones adrenaline and cortisol causing surges in blood pressure and heart rate that damage cardiovascular tissue and can precipitate heart disease and death. In this interview we discuss:
- The difference between acute and chronic stress
- The link between emotional stress and cardiovascular disease
- The feedback loop between the amygdala, hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal glands
- The structure of the blood vessels and how adrenaline stimulates constriction
- Metabolic changes provoked by cortisol such as increased serum glucose and visceral fat deposition
- Affect of stress on blood clotting
- The different environments that provoke the stress response
- What we can learn from athletes in managing stress
- The role of relaxation in reducing blood pressure, heart rate, and cardiovascular mortality
- How the heart and brain communicate with each other
- How our thoughts can make us sick or healthy and the placebo effect
- How vagus nerve stimulation reduces inflammatory cytokines
- How inhalation and exhalation affect heart rate variability
- How the BREATHE technique developed by Dr. Kennedy uses guided imagery and breathing to improve heart health and reduce cardiovascular death
If you have heart disease or suffer from stress in your life, you won’t want to miss this interview. This information might just save your life.
Total time: 39 minutes.
Interview
Click to listen to interview or right-click to download MP3 file
Bio
John M. Kennedy, M.D., is the medical director of preventive cardiology and wellness at Marina Del Rey Hospital. He is on the Board of Directors for the American Heart Association and speaks regularly on their behalf. He is the author of The 15 Minute Heart Cure, which shows how stress can harm our cardiovascular system and offers practical, easy ways to dispel stress naturally. Dr. Kennedy has appeared on the Discovery Channel, KNBC, and other national television and radio outlets. Visit his website at The 15 Minute Heart Cure.
