Question: Does stress affect the heart?

Cristina Villa del Campo answered on 12 Nov 2015:

Hi Blanca,

The answer is yes! Stress response (specially chronic stress) increases cortisol levels in our body. Cortisol is a hormone that is in charge of making you ready to “fight or fly”, so it prepares the body to respond when you need to respond quickly to a threat. Cortisol does many things to the body but regarding your question: it will increase your blood pressure and make you gain weight, to name two; both of which will definitely affect your heart in the long run.
So let’s all relax!