Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
Health

Why stress, fear trigger heart attacks

Darpan News Desk IANS, 11 Jun, 2014 11:25 AM
    In a first, scientists have come up with an explanation to why a sudden shock, stress and fear may trigger heart attack and they found that multiple bacterial species living as biofilms on arterial walls could hold the key to such attacks.
     
    Hormones released during these events appear to cause bacterial biofilms on arterial walls to disperse, allowing plaque deposits to rupture into the bloodstream, the findings showed.
     
    Because the biofilms are closely bound to arterial plaque, the dispersal of a biofilm could cause sudden release of the surrounding arterial plaque, triggering a heart attack.
     
    "Our hypothesis fitted with the observation that heart attack and stroke often occur following an event where elevated levels of catecholamine hormones are released into the blood and tissues, such as occurs during sudden emotional shock or stress, sudden exertion or over-exertion," said David Davies of Binghamton University in the US.
     
    The researchers isolated and cultured different species of bacteria from diseased carotid arteries that had been removed from patients with atherosclerosis.
     
    Their results showed multiple bacterial species living as biofilms in the walls of every atherosclerotic (plaque-covered) carotid artery tested.
     
    The researchers added norepinephrine, at a level that would be found in the body following stress or exertion, to biofilms formed on the inner walls of silicone tubing.
     
    "At least one species of bacteria - Pseudomonas aeruginosa - commonly associated with carotid arteries in our studies, was able to undergo a biofilm dispersion response when exposed to norepinephrine, a hormone responsible for the fight-or-flight response in humans," Davies stated.
     
    This research suggests that management of bacteria within an arterial plaque lesion may be as important as managing cholesterol.
     
    The study was published in the journal mBio.

    MORE Health ARTICLES

    Learn how Plants have Sex

    Learn how Plants have Sex
    Plants give us life, but how do they have sex has long been a mystery. Now, biologists from the University of Leicester have undressed the genetic hierarchy in plant sperm cell formation.

    Learn how Plants have Sex

    Sleep well to Learn Well

    Sleep well to Learn Well
     You must have heard and read that sleep helps strengthen and consolidate memories. Now, researchers show how it works.

    Sleep well to Learn Well

    Eating breakfast helps burn calories: Study

    Eating breakfast helps burn calories: Study
    Breakfast is often said to be the most important meal of the day, yet many people are still shunning it in favour of fasting. But new research suggests that people who eat breakfast burn more calories and have tighter blood sugar control.

    Eating breakfast helps burn calories: Study

    Bad night's sleep? Blame it on your marriage

    Bad night's sleep? Blame it on your marriage
    Now you may know why you usually have a disturbed sleep at night - go figure out if your wife has higher marital satisfaction!

    Bad night's sleep? Blame it on your marriage

    Can diabetes be reversed?

    Can diabetes be reversed?
    In a ray of hope for diabetes patients, scientists have discovered the cellular sequence that leads to the trigger of the disease.

    Can diabetes be reversed?

    Short, intense workouts are key to super health

    Short, intense workouts are key to super health
    Health magazines are full of the benefits of short, intense workouts. Now, it has found a place in a scientific journal too as a new study reveals molecular secrets behind intense workouts.

    Short, intense workouts are key to super health