February is American Heart Month, and the team at Alpenglow Pain & Wellness of Anchorage, Alaska, wants to raise awareness of the link between heart health and chronic pain. Board-certified interventional pain management physicians Dr. Nichelle C. Renk and Dr. Gavin Nixon explain what you need to know in this blog.
Many of our patients at Alpenglow Pain & Wellness are living with a chronic pain condition, with symptoms lasting for more than 12 weeks. Your chronic pain may be connected to a health condition like arthritis, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, lupus, or fibromyalgia.
Chronic pain patients need care focused on managing flare-ups, calming symptoms, and managing any underlying conditions. However, you may not know that people living with chronic pain also need to pay extra attention to cardiovascular health risks.
There are several ways that living with chronic pain challenges your heart health. These include factors you can’t control, as well as some you can.
For one thing, chronic pain results in stress, which is bad for your heart. The physiological stress of constant or chronic pain triggers repeated releases of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. In turn, this increases your blood pressure and heart rate, potentially putting a lot of strain on your cardiovascular system.
It’s also the case that the lifestyle that helps most with your chronic pain may not be great for your heart. Regular or strenuous exercise may be difficult for you, but activity is essential for heart health. Uneven sleep habits, common for chronic pain patients, can also weaken your heart over time.
Some chronic pain patients, especially those with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS), may also experience conditions that affect how the autonomic nervous system regulates heart function. Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and other forms of dysautonomia can cause symptoms such as rapid heart rate, dizziness, fatigue, palpitations, and exercise intolerance.
While these conditions are not heart disease themselves, they can place additional strain on the cardiovascular system and complicate pain management, activity levels, and overall quality of life. Because symptoms can overlap with anxiety, deconditioning, or medication side effects, POTS and dysautonomia are sometimes overlooked. Recognizing these conditions allows patients and providers to take a more comprehensive approach to both pain and heart health.
Knowing about your risks puts you in a better position to manage and improve your overall health. To avoid hypertension (high blood pressure) and heart disease while living with a chronic health condition, follow these recommendations.
Pain psychology helps you develop strategies for managing the stress that comes with a chronic health condition. Mindfulness, meditation, and practices like yoga teach you to reduce the impact of stress responses on your long-term health and wellness. This can also improve your ability to get a good night’s sleep!
As much as possible, maintain a baseline of physical activity and avoid becoming sedentary. Low-impact activities like water aerobics, seated or supported yoga, and even simple walking can make all the difference, giving your heart the chance to stay strong. You may find that some types of gentle activity even improve your pain levels.
Talk to your provider at Alpenglow Pain & Wellness about your unique heart health care needs. If you’re taking medications like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and you have heart concerns, you may need to adjust your pain management approach.
With the right support and care, you can take control of the link between chronic pain and heart health. Patient education and informed medical treatment make all the difference. If you have a chronic pain condition and are concerned about your heart health, contact Alpenglow Pain & Wellness today for personalized treatment and advice. Schedule your initial consultation appointment online or over the phone now.
