There are a number of different health-related factors that can influence your risk of heart disease or heart attacks. These include poor diet, high cholesterol, poor sleep, high blood pressure, obesity, and smoking. However, a recent study identified that there is one factor that is far more prevalent and influential than all the others. This is going through a traumatic event.

Symptoms of heart disease can include heart palpitations, breathlessness and chest pains. There is mounting evidence that social and psychological aspects of your life can affect heart health. Researchers looked at whether experiencing many traumatic events over the course of your life could increase the risk of heart disease. A traumatic event can shape your life for many years to come, and this is especially true if many of them happen within a short time after each other. 

Traumatic experiences included the death of a child, a car accident, being assaulted, sexual harassment or living through a natural disaster. Some of these may even be causes of a personal injury accident because of another person’s negligence. The research found that women who experienced more than three traumatic incidents were likely to have poor functions related to their heart.

The risk was highest for those women who had already gone through menopause. A car accident may have ripple effects throughout your life that can make it difficult for you to adjust to going back to work or the high quality of life you were used to prior to the accident. For this reason, it is important to consider the long terms impacts of such a vehicle accident in terms of your pain and suffering and the emotional difficulties you may face. If someone else is responsible for the injuries you have sustained, you need to schedule a consultation with an experienced attorney immediately.