Stress is individualized, affecting everyone differently. One person might find a certain situation stressful; another may not. Anxiety is slightly different from stress because it typically develops from fearful situations and usually accompanies feelings of uneasiness or distress. Stress and anxiety are a normal part of life, but only in small quantities. Too much of either can hurt your general health and may lead to symptoms of heart disease.
If you experience any of the following symptoms, seek medical attention immediately. These signs may indicate your stress has developed into a heart-related condition.
Palpitations
You may have an unpleasant awareness that your heart is racing. It feels as if your heart is going to explode out of your chest, it's pounding so hard. Your actual heart rhythm may be normal or abnormal. Abnormal heart rhythms feel as if your heart stops periodically or skips beats. People typically feel palpitations in their chest, neck or throat.
Palpitations are associated with a fast heart rate (tachycardia), a heart rate over 100 beats per minute, according to Medline Plus. Palpitations aren't usually serious, but if in conjunction with an irregular heart rhythm there's an increased risk for heart disease.
Chest Pain
You may have a pain or discomfort in the center of your chest that may radiate to your jaw, neck or back. You may describe the discomfort as a pressure, a tight ache or burning sensation. The pain usually develops with some sort of physical exertion but diminishes with rest. The pain typically lasts longer than a few minutes.
High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure results when there is increased resistance within your heart arteries, causing your heart to work harder, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Stress can result in persistent high blood pressure levels, causing serious damage to the body: coronary heart disease, heart attack, heart failure, kidney failure or stroke.
Sweating
When this happens, your body loses a sense of temperature control. You're constantly sweating, and your skin is cold and clammy.
Rapid Breathing
This happens when your ventilation rate is increased and you're breathing more times per minute than usual. In some cases, you may feel as if you are unable to catch your breath because you're breathing so fast.
Fatigue
This is when you regularly feel extremely tired, restless and unmotivated.
