A recent study has established a link between stress to a certain part of the brain and heart conditions. For years scientists have hypothesized that stress was a contributing factor to heart attacks, but data confirming these beliefs was unavailable till now.

According to the BBC, the participants of the study, whose activity in the deep region of the brain called the amygdala was higher, were said to be at a greater risk of cardiovascular disease. More than 300 individuals participated in the study. Scientists revealed that stress could be an important catalyst for heart conditions and even as important as blood pressure, alcohol, and smoking.

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The study was conducted by researchers at the Harvard Medical School. The research focused on increased activity in the area of the brain which processes emotions. Emotions of anger and fear were used to further explore the relationship between the heart and stress.

The study further revealed that when individuals are stressed, the amygdala in the brain signals the production of white blood cells from the bodyś bone marrow. The increased production of white blood cells causes the arteries to become inflamed. Inflammation of the arteries, in turn, leads to strokes, heart attacks, and angina.

The study was published online in the Lancet Journal, Live Science reported. The study revealed that an individual's perceived level of stress contributes to increased brain activity in the amygdala.

The research took into consideration two groups of participants. The first group had undergone heart conditions had scans of the brain, arteries, and bone marrow. These individuals were tracked for four years to monitor if they developed cardiovascular diseases.

Among the group, more than 20 patients developed cardiovascular conditions. Those individuals were also among those that exhibited the highest amygdala activity.

The second group looked at the relationship between inflammation in the arteries and the level of stress. Furthermore, the co-relation between the two was confirmed.

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