Anxiety Linked Once Again To Heart Attacks
Bill Burniece
January 11, 2008
First it was women. This time its anxiety-prone men who have been shown to be more at risk for heart attacks later in life.
The Journal of the American College of Cardiology on Monday released the results from a long term study showing that anxiety increases the risk of heart attacks in men by as much as 40%.
These new findings come on the heels of another study released in October of last year linking panic attacks and anxiety in postmenopausal women with serious heart problems. That study was published by the Archive Of General Psychiatry.
This is further evidence supporting the connection between the brain and heart. Previous studies have linked other psychological profiles to heart disease.
Leading researcher and University of Southern California psychologist Biing-Jiun Shen used data from a national aging study to estimate the impact of this trait on the heart. Shen and his team tracked men who scored in the top 15 percent of anxiety scales that measure such things as excessive doubts, social insecurity, phobias and stress.
It has long been known that men who are high-strung, anger-prone, and who possess explosive personalities are at greater risk for heart attacks but this new data suggests that men who suffer from chronic anxiety and worry are also at risk.
Shen says the physiological reactions of anxiety are very similar to the signs and changes that are thought to lead to heart attacks and when a person is anxious the body reacts as if it is in danger and triggers a flight or fight response.
This explains why many first time anxiety and panic attack sufferers end up in the emergency room thinking it’s their heart when it is really their mind.
Shen says more research is needed before it is known how much our brains influence our heart function and how much we can control what happens in the mind to prevent a heart attack.
The study included 735 men averaging 60 years old which was a significantly smaller sample than the earlier women’s study which included 3369 women aged 51-83 years old.
Shen suggested that, although more studies are needed, doctors may want to consider "chronic, pervasive, and unabated anxiety as a risk factor for heart attack among older men."
"At the risk of jumping to conclusions...I would also suggest that for older men with high anxiety, it may not be a bad idea to seek treatment" said Shen.
Shen’s group plans to conduct further research in women and in various ethnic groups, as well as investigate the possible mechanisms underlying these associations.
Clearly more research is needed but this should serve as a wake up call to all men and women who suffer from anxiety and panic attacks to learn more about their condition. Since anxiety is highly treatable there is no excuse to suffer quietly.
The Journal of the American College of Cardiology on Monday released the results from a long term study showing that anxiety increases the risk of heart attacks in men by as much as 40%.
These new findings come on the heels of another study released in October of last year linking panic attacks and anxiety in postmenopausal women with serious heart problems. That study was published by the Archive Of General Psychiatry.
This is further evidence supporting the connection between the brain and heart. Previous studies have linked other psychological profiles to heart disease.
Leading researcher and University of Southern California psychologist Biing-Jiun Shen used data from a national aging study to estimate the impact of this trait on the heart. Shen and his team tracked men who scored in the top 15 percent of anxiety scales that measure such things as excessive doubts, social insecurity, phobias and stress.
It has long been known that men who are high-strung, anger-prone, and who possess explosive personalities are at greater risk for heart attacks but this new data suggests that men who suffer from chronic anxiety and worry are also at risk.
Shen says the physiological reactions of anxiety are very similar to the signs and changes that are thought to lead to heart attacks and when a person is anxious the body reacts as if it is in danger and triggers a flight or fight response.
This explains why many first time anxiety and panic attack sufferers end up in the emergency room thinking it’s their heart when it is really their mind.
Shen says more research is needed before it is known how much our brains influence our heart function and how much we can control what happens in the mind to prevent a heart attack.
The study included 735 men averaging 60 years old which was a significantly smaller sample than the earlier women’s study which included 3369 women aged 51-83 years old.
Shen suggested that, although more studies are needed, doctors may want to consider "chronic, pervasive, and unabated anxiety as a risk factor for heart attack among older men."
"At the risk of jumping to conclusions...I would also suggest that for older men with high anxiety, it may not be a bad idea to seek treatment" said Shen.
Shen’s group plans to conduct further research in women and in various ethnic groups, as well as investigate the possible mechanisms underlying these associations.
Clearly more research is needed but this should serve as a wake up call to all men and women who suffer from anxiety and panic attacks to learn more about their condition. Since anxiety is highly treatable there is no excuse to suffer quietly.