Guest post provided by resident counselor Lisa Walters.

Are you always stressed due workload at home and in your job? Do you feel a sting in your chest every time you are so much stressed? It’s high time that you learn how to de-stress before your heart suffers.

Studies have shown that stress increases your risk of heart attack and stroke by triggering the activity of the amygdala (fear center of the brain). It results to arterial inflammation, which can cause heart attacks. People who are highly stressed are prone to higher disease-causing white blood cells and an increase level of norepinephrine that can initiate heart attack.

Earlier, stress was only a biological response to life-threatening incidents. However, the modern days have made people produce the same biological reaction, even in simple daily activities. People are stressed on the road because of traffic, work presentation and even solving simple life’s issues.

Stress could lead to serious health problems if you will not learn how to manage it. Chronic stress can lead to high blood pressure, heart attack and excess weight.

Try these simple techniques that can help you de-stress before you become susceptible to stroke and heart attack:

1. Detach.

There’s a limitation for everything. You cannot walk out from stress without giving a pause to what’s causing it. Is it your demanding relationship, work, home, or family issues? Once in a while, detach from the actual scene and take time to breathe. If you cannot change the situation or the person, don’t you think it’s time to give up? If you have tried to fix the issue many times, but nothing worked it’s time to give yourself a break. Don’t stress yourself, you deserve to be happy than to face everyday problems.

2. Meditate.

Meditation has been used since the ancient times as a powerful tool to relax the body and mind. Focusing on your thoughts and breathing can lessen your risk of heart problems. You can also pray and do yoga to calm your mind and emotions.

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Cholesterol is not all bad.

Cholesterol is a type of fat which plays an important function in every cell wall. Cholesterol is used by the body to make other substances, such as hormones, which are essential to our health and well-being.

While cholesterol is found in some foods, the body also produces needed cholesterol in the liver.

Low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol carries cholesterol from the liver to cells.

High-density-lipoprotein (HDL) returns “extra” cholesterol in circulation to the liver.

Diet and lifestyle choices, as well as health conditions, can cause the cholesterol balance gets skewed and heart disease risk rises when LDL levels become too high and/or HDL levels drop too low.

This is where many patients are prescribed statin medications to lower LDL cholesterol levels back to a healthy range, reducing heart disease risk.

No connection between very low LDL cholesterol levels and mortality?

There was a publication not too long ago claiming no association to be found between LDL cholesterol and mortality.

This was a review of 19 studies with over 68,000 participants finding no evidence between LDL cholesterol and mortality.

I was interested to see this because it seems like we are taking it too far in our efforts to lower LDL cholesterol to lower and lower levels. Cholesterol does have a relevant role in health.

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