Stress is an inevitable part of modern life. Unfortunately, it comes with a hefty price tag. The National Heart Foundation now ranks stress equally with smoking, dyslipidaemia and hypertension as a risk factor for coronary heart disease. This represents a huge change in attitudes, according to the foundations clinical director, Professor Andrew Tonkin.Where the sands have shifted is, from thinking about the relationship between acute stressful events and acute cardiac events, to appreciating the relationship between chronic psychosocial factors and cardiovascular disease,” Professor Tonkin says. Although stress is an imprecise term, the NHF says it is commonly used to describe a range of variables, from conditions such as depression, anxiety and panic disorders to a persons work and life circumstances....
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