Traffic Jam Heart Jam?

Does a traffic jam lead to a heart attack?

This research report indicates that getting stuck in traffic prompts a serious and immediate consequence — a much higher risk of suffering a heart attack.

Here’s what they found:
After a four-year analysis of nearly 1,500 heart attack cases, the authors found that making one’s way through traffic — whether as a driver, a rider of public transport, or even a bicyclist — seems to more than triple the chances for experiencing a heart attack in the first hour immediately following exposure.

Here’s the problem with what they found:
What we KNOW is that there is a correlation between traffic and heart attacks. What we don’t know is what part of “being in traffic” causes the stress that contributes to the increased number of heart attacks.

Second, the traffic cannot itself cause a heart attack, although it can cause the intervening stress … which can contribute to the event. However, it is the response to stressful situations that is the underlying cause. This article doesn’t highlight the role of traffic in heart attack, it underscores the importance of our stress coping abilities to it.

Here’s the solution to the problem:
Thus, as in all things, we need to remember that there are things in our lives we can control, and those we cannot. We cannot control the traffic, or the tendency of drivers to be rude, or just drive poorly.

But we can control how that hits us, how we respond to it, and how that affects our peace of mind. The best solution is to practice meditative exercises at home, when you have a few minutes at work, so that the normal jostles and jolts of daily life slide past us, rather than hitting us full on to cause a stress response.

Daily meditative practice is like a muscle; you get better at it, the more you do it. That way, when the common trials of everyday life pop up like they always do, they will more easily roll off of you.