Scientists may have identified the connection between chronic stress and heart attacks, Leukocytes (white blood cells). [s]Time[/s] quotes co-author of the study Matthias Nahrendorf of the [b]Harvard Medical School[/b] as saying that stress causes an overproduction of white blood cells, which defend the body against diseases but can cause problems when produced in excess. These extra cells can stick to artery walls, causing restrictions in blood flow and aiding the formation of clots that can cause blood-vessel blockages throughout the body. [b]Columbia University[/b] researcher and physician Dr Alan Tall, who was not involved in the study, said that while doctors have believed that chronic stress could lead to cardiovascular disease, the exact mechanism has not been clear in the past. He says the new observations suggest a way that clinicians could screen patients for their risk of atherosclerosis, heart attack, and stroke. ‘Rather than asking four questions about stress levels, we could use their white blood cell counts to monitor psychosocial stress,’ he says.
[link url=http://time.com/2909884/chronic-stress-heart-attacks]Full Time report [/link]
[link url=http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nm.3589.html]Nature abstract[/link]