Stress
 
 
Stress refers to the state of psychological tension caused by physical, emotional, socio-economic, or mental pressure. It is a normal human response which serves as a built-in warning mechanism to restrain us from pushing ourselves beyond our subjective limits.
 
While moderate amounts of stress may sometimes be good in that it makes you exert yourself harder and thus improves your performance, excessive stress – i.e. stress which is disproportionate to the pressuring circumstances encountered or which interferes with normal daily life – can be harmful to your health. In particular, people who are under stress may develop habits such as smoking or overeating, which are in themselves risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
 
In addition, researchers increasingly believe that stress may itself be a contributory factor for heart disease. For instance, some studies have found a significant correlation between work stress and the incidence of coronary heart disease; others have revealed a significantly higher level of stress among victims of cardiac death in the final months of their lives compared with people who die of other causes.
 
It is thus vital that you manage and control the amount of stress in your life well.
 
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