How Trauma Impacts the Heart: The Mind-Body Connection You Can’t Ignore

Trauma
Written By Q Porschatis

By Q Porschatis, LCSW

Trauma doesn’t just live in your memories — it lives in your body. Research continues to show that the nervous system, brain, and cardiovascular system are deeply intertwined. If you’ve ever felt your heart race after a stressful memory or noticed chest tightness during anxiety, you’ve experienced this connection firsthand.

But what happens when trauma is unresolved and long-lasting? One of the most overlooked impacts of trauma is its toll on the heart.

The Stress Response and Your Heart

When you experience trauma, your body shifts into survival mode. The sympathetic nervous system floods your system with stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. This reaction is designed to keep you alive in the moment — but when it doesn’t turn off, your cardiovascular system pays the price.

  • Increased heart rate and blood pressure: Chronic activation makes the heart and vessels work harder than they should.

  • Inflammation: Stress hormones increase inflammatory processes, which can damage blood vessels.

  • Disrupted heart rhythm: Trauma survivors often report palpitations, skipped beats, or irregular heart rhythms linked to hyperarousal.

Over time, this pattern can lead to real health concerns like hypertension, arrhythmias, and even heart disease.

Trauma, ACEs, and Heart Disease Risk

The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study revealed a powerful truth: the more early trauma you’ve experienced, the higher your risk for physical health problems later in life — including cardiovascular disease.

Adults with high ACE scores are significantly more likely to develop:

  • Coronary artery disease

  • Stroke

  • Obesity and metabolic syndrome (which increase cardiac risk)

  • Diabetes (another cardiovascular risk factor)

The takeaway? Trauma is not “just in your head.” It leaves lasting imprints on your entire system, including the heart.

The Role of the Vagus Nerve

The vagus nerve is the communication highway between your brain, heart, and gut. It helps regulate your parasympathetic nervous system — the part responsible for rest, digestion, and recovery.

Unresolved trauma often weakens vagal tone, meaning your body struggles to calm down after stress. With low vagal tone:

  • Heart rate variability decreases (a predictor of cardiovascular risk).

  • The heart spends more time in a stressed, activated state.

  • Healing and recovery are slowed.

This explains why many trauma survivors feel “stuck” in hypervigilance — their body literally doesn’t know how to return to baseline.

Healing the Heart by Healing Trauma

The good news: healing is possible, and it doesn’t just reduce emotional pain — it protects your physical health.

Approaches that support both heart and mind include:

  • Somatic Therapy: Helps release stored tension and teaches the body to regulate stress.

  • EMDR Therapy: Allows the nervous system to reprocess traumatic memories and reduce hyperarousal.

  • Polyvagal-Informed Therapy: Strengthens vagal tone, supporting heart health and overall resilience.

  • Mindfulness & Breathwork: Practices like deep, slow breathing activate the parasympathetic system, lowering heart rate and blood pressure.

Why This Matters

If you’ve struggled with unexplained chest tightness, racing heart, or anxiety that seems “stuck in your body,” it’s not weakness — it’s your survival system doing its best to protect you. By addressing trauma at the root, you not only heal emotionally but also safeguard your heart.

Call to Action

At Salty Counseling, we specialize in trauma therapy that goes beyond “coping” — helping you regulate your nervous system, reprocess painful experiences, and reclaim both emotional and physical health.

Schedule a Free Consultation today to begin the healing process.

Resources

Q Porschatis https://saltycounseling.com/
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