The researchers from the University of Western Ontario have offered the very first direct proof by making use of a biological marker, in order to demonstrate that stress has an essential role to play in heart attacks. There are different stressors that have been associated with the risk for developing a cardiovascular disease as well as heart attack, namely; marital, job and financial problems. However, there has not been a biological marker to determine chronic stress. Doctor Stan Van Uum and Gideon Koren have developed a technique to measure the levels of cortisol in hair thus providing a precise assessment of the level of stress in the months before an acute event like a hear attack. The research has been published in the online journal Stress. Cortisol is known as being a stress hormone. It is during periods of stress that its secretion increases. Conventionally cortisol is measured in urine, saliva and serum. However, this measurement only illustrates the stress at the time of the measurement; it does not show the stress for longer time periods. It should be noted that cortisol is also captured in the hair shaft.
Doctor Koren, the holder of the Ivey Chair in Molecular Toxicology at the Western’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, explains that instinctively man knows that stress is not good for him; however it is difficult to measure it. It is a known fact that in general the growth of a hair on a monthly basis is one centimetre (cm), therefore if we take a sample hair of six cms in length, we are able to determine the level of stress for the six months through the measurement of the cortisol level in the hair.
During the study, hair samples of 3 cms in length were gathered form 56 male adults. These men were suffering from heart attacks and were admitted to the Meir Medical Centre found in Kfar-Saba. A control group, comprising of 56 male patients who were also hospitalised but for reasons apart from a heart attack, was also asked for their hair samples. An increased level of cortisol level was found in the hair, corresponding to the previous 3 months, was found in the patients who were suffering from heart attacks in comparison to the control group.
It is noteworthy that even though the group comprising of the adults who were suffering form heart attack had more cholesterol problems, the prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, and smoking in addition to family history of coronary artery disease did not vary much between the two groups. Hair cortisol content is known to be accountable for these risk factors. Recently is has emerged as being the strongest indicator of heart attack.
In accordance to Doctor Koren, nowadays stress has become a serious part of our day to day life and thus affects numerous areas of man’s health and life. He further stated that the study has various implications for practice as well as for research, as stress is a factor that can be controlled through lifestyle changes and psychotherapy.
Sources: E-science News and University of Western Ontario
Thu, Sep 9, 2010
Bioscience, Health And Aging