Ask an Expert: How Does Stress Impact Heart Disease Risk?

Updated on August 19, 2023

This article is part of Health Divide: Heart Disease Risk Factors, a destination in our Health Divide series.

Xiaoyu Liu / Verywell

Meet the Expert

Jessica Shepherd, MD, MBA, FACOG, is a board-certified OB-GYN and the former Chief Medical Officer for Verywell Health. She is the founder and CEO of Sanctum Med + Wellness, a wellness concierge practice, and is affiliated with Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.

Verywell Health: How does stress impact heart disease risk?

Dr. Shepherd: Stress plays a big part in any disease state involving inflammation. Therefore, stress is a big risk factor for a number of health conditions, including heart disease.

Many environmental factors can influence stress levels, including:

Access to health care
Quality of health care
Poverty or financial insecurity
Food access

Access to quality food can be a big stressor, especially in certain communities that just don't have access or financial means to purchase high-quality food. This creates even more barriers to living heart-healthy.

What we’ve seen in studies is that over time, even spanning back to slavery, disparities exist in certain minority communities. These disparities cause stress, which can lead to inflammation and heart disease. That disease then becomes a genetic risk factor over time. That’s how stress can play a particularly large role in the likelihood of a disease state in people of color.

3 Sources

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