Stress can impact cardiovascular health by activating the sympathetic nervous system, increasing heart rate, blood pressure, and cortisol release, leading to insulin resistance, visceral fat deposition, and chronic inflammation.

“but there also may be direct mechanisms as well that stress leads to activation of the sympathetic nervous system increasing heart rate increasing blood pressure increasing release of stress hormones like cortisol that can lead to more insulin resistance more fat deposition and the visceral cavities and more low-grade chronic inflammation”