Experts say prolonged financial stress can lead to health problems

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- After years of dealing with family and financial problems, 79-year-old Evelyn Gibson says the stress began to take a toll on her heart.

The stress caused her to feel tired, dizzy and short of breath so she went to see a physician.

Dr. Guy Mayeda, an interventional cardiologist at Good Samaritan Hospital, says he is seeing more and more patients like Gibson who come in suffering from the pains of debt stress.

"A lot of the patients are trying to work harder also, doing more overtime or taking two jobs," he says.

A recent Gallup survey of nearly 30,000 Americans found more than three-quarters of those who graduated from college with $50,000 in school loans complained of poor health.

Experts say people under prolonged financial pressures continually produce a hormone called cortisol. Over time, cortisol can cause weight gain, weaken the immune system and directly affect the heart.

Mayeda says long-term stress can be linked to high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and weight gain, and it can cause people to engage in bad behaviors more readily.

"[People under stress] frequently will relapse and go back to smoking again or they'll start drinking again," Mayeda says. "A lot of our cardiology patients who are supposed to be on a low-cholesterol diet, when they're under stress they try to seek out what we call 'comfort food.'"

While Mayeda is not a financial counselor, he finds he has to coach his patients to figure out ways to ease stress. He suggests they lean on family members, take frequent long walks, eat well and to try shifting their focus outside of themselves.

Gibson broke out of her cycle of stress by volunteering in her community and regularly supporting other heart patients. As for money troubles, life has taught her to stay within her budget and not to worry about what other people may be doing.

"You do what you know that you can handle," she says.