Dr Anna Rolleston The Cardiac Clinic

Some people easily identify with stress, can articulate the causes of it, and accept it as a part of living.

Others, however, are somewhat oblivious to the phenomenon of stress at all. Stress can also be called anxiety, fear, worry or any other emotive word that makes you think and feel differently to normal.

As a society we tend to normalise stress. Why would I tell you about all of the things in my life that cause me stress when I know you have a job, a family and a life too.

So we don't openly talk about it and we certainly don't manage it well at all. But please know that stress is a definitive risk factor for heart disease.

We may not be able to measure it well, and we know it is poorly understood in medical terms, but all the good things you do in your life to support good heart health can be overridden if your stress is out of control.

So you might eat well, exercise regularly, you might be a non-smoker with normal cholesterol. But if you have stress in your life – and if you live in a modern world it would be unusual that you didn't – then there is a risk.

It's not often we can remove the stress from our life, although in some cases it's probably a good idea.

It's better to simply think about what you could do, on a regular basis, to moderate the stress that exists in your day-to-day life.