Come to a complete stop. After you’ve taken your medication, you can help yourself even more by stopping whatever it is you’re doing. If it’s physical exertion like climbing a hill, you should sit down and rest. If it’s emotional stress, such as an encounter with a rude cashier in the grocery store, you need to pull back from the conflict and remove yourself from the situation.

Whenever your blood pressure and heart rate go up, you put more demand on your heart for oxygen. Once your blood pressure drops and your heart slows down, the heart will be able to reestablish its oxygen balance. The pain will then ease.

To help this happen, it is recommended that you close your eyes and visualize a pleasant scene, such as floating on a lazy river in a rowboat, and slow your breathing down by taking air in through your nose and exhaling through your mouth.

Relaxation is very important. You can teach yourself to change the way your body reacts to stressful situations.