Mayo Clinic study shows pandemic stress is leading to more heart attacks

(ABC 6 News ) – Heart disease is the number one cause of death for women in the U.S. As Mother’s Day approaches, a Mayo Clinic doctor has a gift idea: anything to lower stress.

 

According to Mayo Clinic, stress from the pandemic is contributing to rising cases. While healthcare has steadily improved over the last decade, according to studies, rates of heart attacks and strokes among women have gone up, especially in younger women.

 
Over the last two years, Dr. Mayra Guerrero says the rate has increased during the pandemic partially due to women dealing with a loss of childcare, distance learning and perhaps changing careers. The factors all contribute to the rate of "stress-induced cardiomyopathy."

"What happened with the pandemic, is that the rates of this type of heart attack just from the stress of the pandemic, even without being sick with Covid, that those rates of that type of heart attack increased during the pandemic, " Dr. Mayra Guerrero, an Interventional Cardiologist with Mayo Clinic said.

Guerrero said awareness and screening are key. Seven lifestyle steps to a healthy heart include exercise, a healthy diet, avoiding smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, controlling your Cholesterol, Blood Pressure, and Glucose levels, lowering your stress and screening.