A thorough Google search confirmed my long-held belief: there are no popular songs about livers or kidneys. Celine Dion never sang, “My gallbladder will go on,” and the Bee Gees and Al Green didn’t ponder, “How can you mend a broken appendix?” Neil Young certainly didn’t search for a spleen of gold.
When it comes to love songs, it’s all about the heart—the whole heart, and nothing but the heart. (I’m talking love, not lust.)
So, why is that? What connects the bright red heart emoji with the complex four-chambered organ in our chests? For centuries, poets and musicians worldwide have linked this little blood pump to deep emotions of connection and longing.
Is there a scientific basis behind these metaphors, and does the heart hold a unique significance in our emotional experiences?
From Physical to Emotional Hearts
The view of the heart as merely a physical organ has shaped modern cardiology. Healthcare professionals assess heart health through metrics like blood pressure, cholesterol levels, triglycerides, and heart rhythm via EKGs. When issues arise, they are treated with medications and physical interventions like surgeries.
This approach is certainly valid—modern cardiac medicine saves countless lives every day. Advances in cardiac care, including new medications and heart implant technologies, have significantly reduced mortality rates from heart disease in developed countries, saving millions.
Yet, contemporary science is beginning to acknowledge what many traditional cultures have understood for centuries: the heart is much more than a simple pump. While lifestyle factors, particularly diet, greatly influence heart health, there’s another critical aspect that often goes unaddressed: our emotions.
In 2004, researchers conducted the INTERHEART study, the first large-scale trial examining the connection between emotions and heart health. With over 25,000 participants from 52 countries, the study identified several emotional stressors as significant risk factors for heart disease. Ongoing research continues to expand our understanding and develop protocols for healing “broken hearts” on both emotional and physical levels.
In this article, we will explore the emotional dimensions of heart health, examining how both positive and negative feelings affect your heart, and discuss ways to nurture your emotional well-being.
Can Your Heart Think or Feel?
For a long time, Western science held the belief that only the brain was capable of “thinking,” viewing other organs and systems as mindless entities merely following the brain’s commands. This perspective shifted with the discovery of the gut’s own “brain,” known as the enteric nervous system.
More recently, researchers have identified another type of “brain” within the heart, leading to the emergence of the field of neurocardiology.
But what does it mean to say there’s a “brain” in the gut or heart? Are we literally referring to a mass of gray matter?
Not quite. The term “brain” here is metaphorical, describing specific functions: the ability to sense the environment, make decisions based on that information, and communicate those decisions throughout the body. By this definition, the heart indeed has its own brain, exchanging information with the brain in the head.
The Heart’s “Little Brain”
Renowned cardiologist and partner in FRN’s Healthy Heart Course, Dr. Mimi Guarneri, refers to the heart as the body’s “little brain.” In her words, it possesses “its own intelligence, emotions, nervous system, and decision-making power.”
We now understand that the heart has the necessary components to support this brain-like functionality. It features its own nervous system, known as the intrinsic cardiac nervous system (ICNS), which can produce and release hormones. This system operates much like the brain’s nervous system, utilizing a complex network of nerve clusters, neurotransmitters, proteins, and other cells.
This intricate circuitry allows the heart to function independently of the brain. It can directly sense your internal state and aspects of the external environment, learning, storing memories, and making decisions in the process. Remarkably, the feelings generated by the heart significantly influence its performance and longevity.
In essence, as Dr. Guarneri explains, your heart is a “mental, emotional, and spiritual organ” with complex connections that extend far beyond its role in pumping blood.
How Pleasant Feelings Impact the Heart
In healing traditions across the globe, the heart is regarded as the emotional center of the body. In Indian Ayurvedic texts and Greek and Roman literature, love is the primary emotion linked to the heart, while Traditional Chinese Medicine associates it with joy.
Many people report experiencing sensations of love, care, and joy radiating from the heart or chest area. This isn’t merely a cultural belief; the heart functions as a sensory organ capable of feeling. One key hormone produced by the heart is oxytocin, often referred to as the “cuddle” or “love” hormone, which is released when we feel close to others, whether they are people, pets, or even a larger sense of community.
Pleasant emotions not only make us feel good, which is a great reason to seek them out regularly, but they also play a protective role for the heart.
Loving Touch
Love serves as a powerful protector for the heart. Embracing and other forms of affectionate touch can help lower both blood pressure and heart rate. The release of oxytocin facilitates vasodilation, or the widening of the arteries. This increased blood flow not only lowers blood pressure but also reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Laughter and Heart Health
Laughter not only brings a smile to your face but also benefits your heart. When you laugh, your body releases beta-endorphins, which are part of the feel-good endorphin family. These endorphins encourage receptors in the blood vessels to release nitric oxide, a molecule that provides various protective effects for the cardiovascular system. Regular laughter can lower your risk of heart attacks and strokes compared to those who are less cheerful. Additionally, laughter helps reduce stiffness and damage to blood vessels as you age.
Gratitude and Heart Health
Gratitude also plays a vital role in maintaining optimal heart health. As Dr. Guarneri explains:
“An attitude of gratitude isn’t just a mental exercise; it can significantly benefit your physical health, particularly your heart. Research shows that people who practice gratitude tend to be healthier, exercise more, experience fewer ailments, and overall feel better. Clinical trials indicate that regular expressions of gratitude can lower blood pressure and enhance immune function, resulting in profound and lasting health effects.”
Even in cases of significant heart damage, gratitude can aid in healing. A 2016 study examined the effects of keeping a gratitude journal among older patients with Stage B heart failure. Those who journaled regularly for eight weeks experienced significant reductions in inflammatory biomarkers compared to those who did not journal. Additionally, their heart rate variability (HRV) improved during this period.
Other studies have also linked consistent expressions of gratitude and optimism with lower heart rates and blood pressure.
A Note on Heart Rate Variability
Neurocardiac researchers are increasingly focused on HRV, as it serves as a key biomarker for overall health, particularly cardiovascular health. In the past, doctors believed that a normal heart rhythm was a steady, uniform beat, like a metronome.
However, we now understand that the intervals between heartbeats vary based on whether a person is inhaling or exhaling. The greater the difference and the smoother the fluctuations, the healthier the individual tends to be and the more resilient they are to stressors. This variability reflects a dynamic balance between the two branches of the autonomic nervous system: the stimulating sympathetic and the calming parasympathetic systems. A healthy, robust HRV indicates this balance is well maintained.
How Unpleasant Feelings Impact the Heart
While positive emotions such as love, gratitude, and hopefulness can be beneficial for heart health, negative emotions can have the opposite impact. Four widely recognized “negative” emotions that many of us experience include depression, grief, stress, and anger. Let’s explore each of these emotions and then discuss strategies to help you and your heart feel better.
Depression and Heart Disease
Individuals with depression face an elevated risk of developing heart disease in the future. This relationship is reciprocal, as many cardiac patients may experience depression following their diagnosis.
Dr. Guarneri notes that “about one in twenty American adults experience major depression in any given year, but this figure rises to approximately one in three among those who have survived a heart attack. Additionally, the risk of having another heart attack is four times higher for individuals with heart disease who also suffer from depression compared to those without depression.”
The American Heart Association reported in a 2015 scientific statement that even teenagers with depressive disorders are at an increased risk for future heart disease. While the precise mechanisms are still being studied, one promising theory suggests that depression negatively impacts heart health through lower heart rate variability (HRV). This theory posits that depression disrupts the balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
This connection may also explain why anxiety can heighten cardiac risk; anxiety tends to drain the autonomic nervous system, further contributing to decreased HRV.
Grief’s Impact on the Heart
When people refer to having a “broken heart,” they’re not just using a metaphor; there’s a physiological reality behind the phrase. Grief, a powerful emotional response to loss, can indeed harm the heart and make it susceptible to both acute and chronic injuries.
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, commonly known as broken heart syndrome, can lead to heart attacks even without any arterial blockage. The name comes from the distinctive shape the affected heart takes, resembling traditional Japanese octopus pots called “tako tsubo.”
Individuals who have recently lost a spouse face a significantly higher risk of developing and succumbing to heart disease. This increased risk can be partly attributed to lifestyle changes—such as poor eating habits or reduced physical activity—but there are also direct biochemical factors at play.
Bereavement can elevate levels of catecholamines, which are stress hormones, leading to higher blood pressure. These changes reflect heightened activity in the sympathetic nervous system.
However, it’s not only the loss of a spouse that can induce such profound grief; losing a parent or a child can also increase the risk of cardiac events.
Stress and the Heart
Psychosocial stress—which describes the gap between life’s demands and an individual’s ability to cope—can be as detrimental to heart health as an unhealthy diet or smoking, according to recent research.
While dietary choices and smoking are often within an individual’s control, the “social” aspect of psychosocial stress highlights that many external stressors, such as job pressures, racism, poverty, and chronic conditions like PTSD, can be difficult or even impossible to avoid. These factors are all linked to a higher risk of hypertension.
Stress can harm the cardiovascular system at any age, but it is particularly associated with early-onset cardiovascular disease (CVD) in individuals under 50. Chronic stress acts like an engine running too hot, leading to sustained sympathetic nervous system activation. This prolonged stress can result in a range of cardiovascular issues, including arrhythmias, platelet aggregation, acute coronary syndromes, and heart failure.
Anger and Heart Health
While depression often leads to withdrawal, anger manifests as an outward response. Those who frequently experience anger have been found to face a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, and heart failure.
As Dr. Guarneri notes:
“Emerging research on the impact of anger on the body is concerning: experiencing anger can increase your risk of a heart attack by as much as 230%! Stress and anger can trigger over 1,400 chemical reactions in your body, often leading to measurable changes in your cardiovascular system.”
Anger doesn’t exist in isolation; it is influenced by one’s environment. Studies suggest that in more stressful settings, the detrimental effects of anger on heart health may be amplified. For instance, research indicated a link between expressing anger and increased CVD risk among urban residents, while this association was less pronounced in rural populations. This implies that the heightened stress of city life may exacerbate the relationship between anger and cardiovascular issues.
Another study revealed that anger could play a role in the development of specific cardiovascular diseases and CVD mortality, particularly heart failure in men and individuals with diabetes.
Caring for Your Emotional Heart
Just as negative emotions like depression, grief, stress, and anger can adversely affect your heart, nurturing positive feelings can help protect and even heal it.
Experience Love
The Power of Social Connection
Social connection and love serve as potent antidotes to loneliness, a condition that can contribute to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Engaging with loved ones—whether in person, over the phone, or via video calls—can boost the production of oxytocin and other heart-healthy neurotransmitters.
Socializing offers long-term benefits for heart health, regardless of age. A compelling 2018 study found that teenage boys who spent more time with friends grew into men with lower blood pressure and healthier body mass indices two decades later—both key indicators of heart health.
To enhance your emotional well-being, focus on fostering love and connection in your life. The more quality time you invest in relationships with friends and loved ones, the greater your production of oxytocin.
Cultivate Inner Peace
Inner peace serves as a powerful antidote to overwhelming stress and can help temper angry reactions. Engaging in activities such as yoga, prayer, meditation, and other contemplative practices has been shown to improve cardiovascular risk biomarkers.
Mindfulness encourages nonjudgmental awareness of your emotions and surroundings, providing the space to choose your responses rather than simply reacting, which can exacerbate stress.
Additionally, tai chi—a gentle martial art rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine—has been shown to reduce inflammation and alleviate depression.
Incorporating relaxing lifestyle activities can enhance your parasympathetic tone, bolstering your ability to maintain healthy blood pressure and heart rate even amidst life’s inevitable challenges.
Cultivate Positivity
When it comes to heart health, cultivating a positive mindset can create a self-fulfilling prophecy. A 2019 meta-analysis involving nearly 230,000 participants found that those who maintained an optimistic outlook had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Positive well-being, characterized by uplifting feelings and a sense of hope, is linked to reduced mental stress and increased resilience. Actively seeking to experience positive emotions each day can help mitigate the impact of negative emotions on systolic blood pressure.
This isn’t to say you should suppress unpleasant feelings or force yourself to recite positive affirmations whenever sadness, anger, or fear arises. Such “negative” emotions can play a crucial role in our emotional landscape. For instance, grief in the face of loss is a natural response and shouldn’t be overlooked or rushed through in the name of lowering blood pressure.
Instead, the goal is to find balance. Many of us live in environments that don’t provide ample opportunities to relax, reflect, or connect with others. Therefore, it’s essential to be intentional and proactive about incorporating heart-healthy and life-affirming practices into our daily routines.
Your Emotions and Heart Health
The heart is more than just a physical organ; it’s also an emotional one, equipped with its own nervous system. Your feelings can significantly influence your heart’s health. By fostering love, peace, and gratitude, you not only enhance your emotional well-being but also promote better heart health, creating a positive cycle of improvement.
