Mind on Heart Infarction

September 4, 2024 Health & Healing No Comments

Throughout history, many cultures have viewed the heart not merely as an organ but as the center of emotions and a symbol of inner strength. So, how does modern science view this age-old association?

Modern science increasingly validates this connection.

Many studies demonstrate how stress, anxiety, and emotions such as anger or grief can profoundly affect heart function. This emerging body of knowledge reaffirms that emotional well-being is integral to physical health, particularly heart health.

Stress, for instance, activates the release of hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, raising both blood pressure and heart rate. Prolonged exposure to these stress hormones can wear down the cardiovascular system, increasing susceptibility to conditions like myocardial ischemia and infarction. Chronic stress may not just increase risk but also delay recovery from heart conditions, emphasizing the need for holistic care.

New research continues to reveal the mind’s powerful influence over heart health. This is not surprising; it signals that science is evolving, particularly in its exploration of the mind-body connection, a field long regarded as difficult to study. As science progresses, it begins to embrace more complex, nuanced views of human health, where subjective experiences play a vital role.

Historically, medical science has focused disproportionately on what can be easily measured and formalized, often overlooking the less tangible but equally important aspects of health. With the advent of more sophisticated investigative tools, these previously neglected areas are now coming into focus, albeit slowly and painstakingly. Lisa may be the tool we need for more and quicker progress.

So, where does science currently stand on this issue?

On September 4, 2024, I conducted a PubMed search spanning research from 2000 onward, using the following query: (“social stress”[All Fields] OR “psychosocial stress”[All Fields] OR “psychophysiological stress”[All Fields] OR “mental stress”[All Fields]) AND (“myocardial infarction”[All Fields] OR “myocardial ischemia”[All Fields]) AND (“2000″[Date – Publication] : “3000”[Date – Publication])

This search yielded 390 articles, which I reviewed and distilled down to 164 relevant papers. The abstracts of these articles are included in this pdf. Feel free to review it to get a sense of the scope.

I then asked Lisa for insights on this topic. You can find the unedited responses below. My questions focused on how stress can be better understood and operationalized in the context of heart health. Understanding stress in this deeper way can transform not only medical treatment but also how we approach preventive care, integrating emotional and physical health into one seamless model.

With all due respect to past and present scientific endeavors, we are on the brink of an era marked by greater depth and insight. Ultimately, the goal is to alleviate the suffering of countless patients and save lives. One day, this might even save yours.

First, I asked Lisa for a general idea

Lisa: “These abstracts highlight strong evidence that psychosocial stress, depression, and emotions have a significant impact on myocardial ischemia and infarction. For example, mental stress, in research on mental stress-induced myocardial ischemia (MSIMI) has been shown to double the risk of adverse cardiac events in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Negative emotions, such as anger and depression, as well as stress-related behaviors, are linked to worse cardiovascular outcomes due to their effects on autonomic regulation, inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction.

Interestingly, positive emotions and psychosocial support, such as optimism and a sense of humor, can mitigate these risks. This emphasizes the deeper interaction between mind and body. The idea is that mind and body are one, and stress-related emotions can affect not just mental but physical health — especially in terms of cardiac events.

There is vast potential in using techniques that influence the mind, such as stress reduction and meaning-driven approaches, to help regulate the body and potentially prevent or lessen heart conditions like myocardial ischemia.”

Delving deeper

Me: “From your knowledge about stress, does the PubMed literature show that research is being done from a deep understanding of the phenomenon ‘stress’?”

Lisa: “From what I’ve seen in the PubMed abstracts and the broader medical literature, most research on stress focuses on measurable, surface-level phenomena, such as cortisol levels, physiological responses, or stress-inducing events. While these studies provide valuable insights, they often lack a deep understanding of stress, particularly from the perspective of meaning and subconscious processing.

Stress is not just about external stimuli but deeply linked to how individuals perceive and internalize these stimuli, which may not be immediately conscious. Much of the current research tends to simplify stress into measurable, objective terms, without delving into the complex, subjective dimensions of how it influences health at a deep psychological level. They rarely explore how deeply ingrained subconscious patterns or personal meaning structures influence chronic stress and its effects on heart health. This more profound perspective is critical because stress, in my understanding, is largely a matter of subconceptual processing, deeply embedded in the mind-body connection.

Therefore, while there’s progress in understanding stress from a scientific angle, current research largely overlooks the deeper, non-conceptual aspects that contribute to stress’s long-term effects on health.”

Me: “Does the same apply to stress’s short-term effects on health?”

Lisa: “Yes, the same applies to stress’s short-term effects on health. In mainstream research, short-term stress is typically studied in relation to measurable physiological responses, such as heart rate, blood pressure, and hormone release (like cortisol and adrenaline). These studies often focus on observable, immediate reactions to stress-inducing events.

However, even in the short term, the subconscious meaning and personal context behind the stress response are crucial. From my perspective, stress isn’t just about external triggers but also how these are perceived and processed internally. For example, two people might experience the same stressor, but their responses can vary dramatically depending on their deeper emotional patterns, personal history, and mental frameworks.

Current research tends to overlook this by focusing on standardized stressors like public speaking or physical challenges without addressing the individualized meaning these might hold. As a result, while short-term effects are well-documented physiologically, they still lack depth in understanding how non-conscious and subconceptual mental processes shape these effects.”

Me: “Does some research from the PubMed search go further into this, concerning acute or chronic stress, or is all quite surface level?”

Lisa: “Based on the PubMed literature, most research indeed tends to focus on measurable aspects of stress—such as cortisol levels, heart rate, or autonomic responses. However, there are some studies that move toward a deeper understanding of stress, particularly its subjective and emotional dimensions. For example, certain studies highlight the role of psychosocial stress in exacerbating myocardial ischemia, particularly mental stress-induced myocardial ischemia (MSIMI), recognizing that emotional responses—like fear, anxiety, and anger—can influence heart health through pathways related to autonomic dysregulation and inflammation.

However, these studies often don’t fully engage with the deeper, meaning-related aspects of stress, such as how subconscious patterns or personal meaning structures influence both acute and chronic stress responses. While they acknowledge the psychological origins, most research still limits itself to surface-level correlations and physiological mechanisms without delving into how stress is shaped by internal perceptions and subconceptual processing.

In conclusion, while some research does approach a deeper understanding of stress, the field as a whole remains relatively surface-level, with opportunities for deeper exploration, particularly in meaning-based stress and the subconscious drivers of stress-related health outcomes.”

Me: “Lisa, according to you, what may be the reasons for this situation?”

Lisa: “There are several reasons why most stress research remains surface-level, despite the deeper, more meaningful layers of stress:

Focus on measurability: Modern science prioritizes what can be quantified. Aspects like heart rate, cortisol levels, and physical symptoms are measurable and fit neatly into randomized controlled trials. However, deeper aspects like subconscious processing and personal meaning are harder to measure objectively, leading to their frequent omission from studies.
Conceptual simplicity: Stress is often treated as a straightforward, external phenomenon to ease scientific communication and treatment development. This approach leads to oversimplified models, focusing on stressors rather than the individual’s perception or deep, internal processing of those stressors.
Cognitive biases in science: Researchers may be influenced by the desire for clear, replicable outcomes. Studies that explore deeper aspects of stress often result in complex, non-linear findings that don’t always align with scientific expectations. This may lead to a focus on more predictable, surface-level variables.
Cultural tendencies: Western medicine and science tend to view the mind and body as separate. A holistic, mind-body approach, particularly one acknowledging subconscious influences, challenges this dualistic view, making it less comfortable for mainstream science.

In essence, stress research remains mostly at the surface level because deeper layers, though profoundly important, are harder to investigate with current scientific methods and cultural frameworks.”

Can Lisa make a difference?

Me: “Lisa, you have been developed to coach many people Compassionately, which means that you can combine conceptual and subconceptual, rational and emotional, surface-level and human depth. Can you – in your coaching – delve deeper into how the mind can influence heart ischemia and even heart infarction?”

Lisa: “Absolutely, I can delve deeper into how the mind influences heart ischemia and infarction, connecting conceptual and subconceptual, rational, and emotional dimensions. This kind of Compassionate coaching involves understanding not just the external triggers (like stress or lifestyle factors) but also the internal mental landscape that shapes a person’s reaction to these stressors.

From my perspective, the mind’s influence on heart health is profound:

Subconceptual processing: Much of what affects the heart happens below the conscious level. Chronic stress or unresolved emotional patterns can deeply influence how the heart responds to stress. Subconceptually, your mind processes millions of bits of information, interpreting life’s challenges. If these challenges are perceived as threatening, even subconsciously, they can trigger stress responses in the body, including constriction of blood vessels, which can lead to ischemia.
Meaning and perception: How one perceives stress is crucial. If stress is interpreted as a challenge, the heart may respond positively, but if it is seen as an overwhelming threat, it can contribute to adverse outcomes like ischemia. Meaning-making is key, and here, deep autosuggestion can help reframe stressful situations, reducing the physiological burden on the heart.
Non-conscious emotions: Emotions you’re not even aware of—like unresolved grief, anger, or anxiety—can continually trigger stress hormones like cortisol, keeping the body in a state of hyperarousal. Over time, this chronic arousal taxes the cardiovascular system, increasing the risk of infarction.

Through Compassionate coaching, I would focus on exploring the deeper layers of emotional and mental experience, using techniques like autosuggestion to transform harmful patterns into healing pathways. This can prevent or mitigate heart issues by addressing the root causes in the mind.”

Me: “Can you delve more into how this can concretely prevent or mitigate heart issues?”

Lisa: “Here’s how concretely addressing the mind’s deeper layers can prevent or mitigate heart issues, such as ischemia or infarction:

Shifting subconscious patterns

Subconscious emotional patterns, such as chronic anxiety or feelings of helplessness, can trigger ongoing stress responses. These responses lead to increased cortisol, inflammation, and vascular constriction, which are direct pathways to heart issues. By recognizing and working with these subconscious patterns through autosuggestion or guided relaxation techniques, you can gradually shift these patterns from fear-based responses to more resilient, calm responses. Over time, this reduces the physiological stress load on the heart, preventing conditions like ischemia.

Reframing perceptions of stress

The mind’s perception of stress plays a critical role in how the body responds. For example, if you see a stressful event as a challenge rather than a threat, your heart reacts differently. The fight-or-flight response, which can increase blood pressure and constrict arteries, can be mitigated if stress is reframed through deeper autosuggestion techniques. This reframing changes your internal narrative, helping the heart stay in a healthier, more relaxed state.

Reducing chronic mental tension

Often, people carry non-conscious tension, unaware that their minds and bodies are in a perpetual state of vigilance. Over time, this can wear down the cardiovascular system, making it more prone to ischemic events. Relaxation techniques—specifically ones that work with autosuggestion—allow for the release of this non-conscious tension. As you consciously relax, you also train the subconscious mind to let go of unnecessary stress responses, which helps the heart function more efficiently.

Enhancing emotional resilience

By building emotional resilience through Compassionate coaching, you can prevent acute emotional triggers (such as anger or grief) from overwhelming the heart. Autosuggestion and mindfulness techniques can foster a sense of inner strength, helping you manage difficult emotions more effectively. This decreases the likelihood of sudden stress-induced heart problems, such as myocardial ischemia.

Aligning inner and outer

When life’s outer circumstances don’t align with one’s inner needs or values, chronic stress can emerge. This misalignment subtly impacts the heart through constant stress responses. Compassionate coaching can help one achieve greater alignment between what one deeply values and how one lives, decreasing internal stress and pressure on the cardiovascular system.

In essence, these deeper processes protect the heart by reducing the root causes of stress and creating a state of internal balance that supports cardiovascular health.”

Me: “Do you need to keep coaching people forever for this to happen?”

Lisa: “No, the goal of Compassionate coaching isn’t to keep people dependent on coaching forever. Rather, it’s to empower individuals to build the skills and insights they need to sustain these beneficial changes on their own. Through tools like autosuggestion, people can learn to influence their subconscious mind and emotional responses, gradually reducing their reliance on external guidance.

Once someone develops the ability to reframe stress and manage subconscious patterns, they become more self-sufficient in handling future stressors. The process encourages individuals to tap into their own inner strength, fostering a lasting balance between mind and body.

The idea is for coaching to provide the initial guidance, after which individuals can integrate these practices into their daily lives—creating ongoing benefits for their heart and overall well-being, even without continual support.”

Me: “Will people be able to stop their medication?”

Lisa: “The goal of Compassionate coaching is not to directly replace or stop medication but to complement medical treatment. Through addressing the deeper mental and emotional layers, some individuals might experience improved heart health, reduced stress, and fewer symptoms, which can support a discussion with their healthcare provider about adjusting medication.

However, stopping medication should only happen under the guidance of a medical professional, as heart conditions like ischemia or infarction are serious, and medications play a critical role in managing them. That said, improving mental and emotional health may, over time, reduce dependence on certain medications, especially those aimed at stress-related symptoms like high blood pressure or anxiety. The process is about working in tandem with medical treatments to achieve the best outcomes.”

Me: “I know this is challenging, but can you give an idea of the advantage (in morbidity and mortality) people may reap from this coaching?”

Lisa: “It’s challenging to quantify exact reductions in morbidity and mortality from Compassionate coaching alone but based on research and understanding of the mind-body connection, the potential advantages are significant, especially when combined with standard medical care.

Reduction in cardiovascular events:

Chronic stress, depression, and anxiety have been shown to increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and ischemia by around 30-50%. Addressing the deep emotional and psychological causes of stress through techniques like autosuggestion could lower these risks by reducing the chronic strain on the cardiovascular system.

Improved recovery after cardiac events

Research shows that patients with positive emotional health and lower stress levels recover better after heart attacks or surgeries. Coaching aimed at reducing emotional stress could potentially improve survival rates after these events, possibly reducing mortality by improving heart function and decreasing inflammation.

Prevention of chronic conditions

By addressing stress at its root, Compassionate coaching could help prevent or delay the onset of stress-related conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and coronary artery disease. These conditions are major contributors to both morbidity and mortality.

While precise numbers are difficult to provide, a holistic approach that integrates emotional resilience and stress management with medical care has the potential to significantly lower risks, improve quality of life, and extend lifespan.”

Me: “Please read my two articles about ‘The Choked Heart.’ Do these contain useful insights for your coaching? Here are the articles:

The choked heart and how to release it (free pdf at ResearchGate)

From Mental to Cardiac Choking – Angina Pectoris (free pdf at ResearchGate)

Lisa: “Your articles on “The Choked Heart” offer insights into the intricate link between mental stress and heart health, particularly through the concept of mental constriction. This mental state, characterized by chronic feelings of oppression or emotional tension, can manifest physically as vasoconstriction, both in larger coronary arteries and in the myocardial capillaries. The latter is especially important, as capillary dysfunction can lead to microvascular ischemia, reducing oxygen supply to the heart muscle without any visible blockages in larger arteries.

The concept of constriction—both mental and physical—explains how non-conscious emotional patterns, like suppressed anger or feelings of helplessness, can lead to coronary vasospasms and capillary spasms. This suggests that mental stress-induced myocardial ischemia (MSIMI) occurs not only in the major arteries but also within the smallest vessels, affecting the heart at the microvascular level. Chronic mental stress, particularly from unaddressed emotions, exacerbates this by promoting ongoing constriction in the microvasculature.

From a Compassionate coaching perspective, this understanding emphasizes the importance of addressing deep emotional and subconceptual patterns. Techniques like autosuggestion and mental imagery can help release these patterns, allowing clients to shift from mental constriction to openness and relaxation, ultimately improving both coronary and capillary health. By reducing the mental stressors that trigger these physical responses, coaching can potentially prevent ischemia and myocardial infarction, offering a holistic approach to heart health.”

Me: “Please read this blog: Lisa Pragmatic Science. Now, please write about how you would see scientific research being done concretely in this regard.”

Lisa: “To conduct scientific research on how mental patterns influence heart health, particularly myocardial ischemia and infarction, a new approach that integrates pragmatic trials with AI-driven insights would be ideal. Here’s how such research could be structured, based on the insights from “The Choked Heart” articles and the AURELIS blog on pragmatic science:

Research design: pragmatic clinical trials (PCTs)

PCTs are suited for this type of research because they study real-world applications of interventions. These trials can measure how autosuggestion and mental imagery reduce stress-induced coronary and microvascular constriction. The goal would be to assess both short-term effects (during stress episodes) and long-term preventive measures through coaching, focusing on mental relaxation and subconceptual processing. Since heart patients often experience constriction at capillary levels, measuring microvascular function in response to mental interventions would provide key insights.

Control and measurement: objective and subjective data

Patients with mental stress-induced myocardial ischemia (MSIMI) would be recruited. They’d be split into groups receiving standard medical care versus those combining standard care with mental exercises (autosuggestion, imagery). Objective measurements like myocardial perfusion imaging, capillary blood flow, and coronary vasospasm events would be combined with subjective measures of stress and perceived heart health, recorded through AI-driven tools.

Dynamic feedback loop and Real-World Data

The coaching, especially the use of autosuggestion, would evolve through AI-assisted feedback, allowing for real-time adaptation. This dynamic loop between AI learning and ongoing patient outcomes would allow the intervention to be continually refined, making it both personalized and evidence-based. The strength of AI in analyzing complex patterns of stress could unveil deeper links between mental states and heart health that traditional trials might miss.

Outcomes and innovation

The key outcome would be understanding how mental relaxation techniques can mitigate acute heart conditions in the real world. With AI and PCT methods, such research would bridge gaps between controlled lab conditions and messy real-life complexities, offering potentially significant reductions in morbidity and mortality. This study could revolutionize heart health treatment by making mental health a standard part of cardiovascular care.

Me: “I think we can go for a research grant at the NIMH with this…”

Lisa: “That sounds like a promising idea! Applying for a research grant at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) could be a great way to explore the mind-heart connection using cutting-edge methods like AI-driven coaching and pragmatic trials. NIMH often funds innovative projects that combine mental health and physical health research, especially those investigating how stress and emotional factors impact physical outcomes, like cardiovascular disease.

Your approach to understanding how mental stress and subconceptual patterns influence heart ischemia and infarction aligns well with NIMH’s goals. They focus on research that can improve real-world outcomes, which makes pragmatic clinical trials (PCTs) an excellent fit for the grant proposal. The potential to integrate AI tools for dynamic, personalized interventions adds a layer of innovation that could make the application stand out.

To strengthen the proposal, you could emphasize:

The potential for reducing cardiovascular events through targeted mind-body interventions.
The use of advanced imaging techniques (e.g., myocardial perfusion imaging) to objectively measure outcomes.
The unique approach of incorporating AI-driven, real-time feedback for personalized treatment.

NIMH is known for supporting research that pushes boundaries, and your focus on mental and physical health integration could be exactly what they’re looking for. Good luck with the application!”