that s greatly debatable. one group of researchers say yes, one says no. It varies person to person and situation to situation. Some people can handle stress better than others can. While stress does cause the blood pressure to rise, its not a permanent rise. it is more likely that stress causes strokes than heart attacks. If you stop and think about it, more people suffer from CVAs and TIAs after the death of a spouse or child than they do heart attacks. While those who take on the role of caregiver to a child or spouse who has become ill and are no longer able to care for themselves develop poor eating habits, sacrificing their health to look after their loved one, which ultimately leads to heart disease (among other things) which leads to heart attacks.