Strong emotions – for example, a fright – cause the adrenal glands (located on top of the kidneys) to release adrenaline. This substance enters the bloodstream and prepares the organism to face the situation – in the heart, specifically, it causes an increase in the beats. With this, more blood is pumped to the muscles so that the person can flee or face danger. Adrenaline also stimulates a contraction of blood vessels, which also serves to pump more blood and improve irrigation in vital centers such as the brain. This is how the intensification of cardiac work and the narrowing of the vessels can cause infarction – tissue death due to lack of oxygenation – if there is already a semi-obstructed coronary artery (those that supply blood to the heart). The heart is a muscle that, like any other, needs oxygen. As your work increases, so does your need for this life gas.
If an artery that serves that region of the body has an obstruction, it will let less blood pass than necessary and then the infarction happens. Another possibility is that the contraction of an artery that already has some blockage results in a complete blockage, also causing a heart attack. “Many times the person does not even know that the organ is diseased, but at that time the problem manifests itself”, says cardiologist Noedir Stolf, from the Instituto do Coração of the Hospital das Clínicas, in São Paulo.
1. Under a strong emotion, the adrenal glands release adrenaline, a substance that constricts blood vessels
2. If an artery in the heart is clogged, the contraction can stop blood flow. Without oxygenation, heart tissue dies. It’s the heart attack
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