Valley heart doctor warns against getting stressed out over elections
Oct 31, 2018, 4:30 PM
(Pexels Photo)
(Pexels Photo)
PHOENIX – A Valley heart doctor has some advice if Election Day leaves you stressed out and agitated.
“Whatever happens, it’s going to get better,” Dr. Kris Vijay, a cardiologist with the Abrazo Community Health Network, told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Wednesday.
Vijay warned that the stress of election season can put people at risk for heart problems, even if they don’t have a risk factor for heart disease.
“Make sure that you don’t end up having your heart rate go too fast and your blood pressure go sky high and hit the ceiling,” said Vijay, the director of Abrazo’s Institute of Congestive Heart Failure.
Vijay suggested going out for a healthy dinner, seeing a movie, working out or getting a massage instead of watching TV on Tuesday night as election results roll in.
He said reacting too strongly to election news can stimulate the negative neurohormones in the body and lead to a heart attack or stroke.
Vijay warned against internalizing “the stuff that is going on out there and saying ‘Oh my god, what’s going to happen to me or my friend or my significant other if this candidate wins or this candidate loses.’”
He added, “Whoever wins the election, it’s all going to be OK.”
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Ali Vetnar contributed to this report.
