Your Mental Health Affects Your Heart Health
Written By: American Heart Journal
Print
Email
Published - Aug 31, 2010
Continuing evidence is emerging that mental health conditions affect heart health as well. A recent study of over 97,000 individuals demonstrated that those with anxiety disorders are at increased risk of having a heart attack. These findings were recently published in the American Heart Journal. Researchers found that several anxiety disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic disorder, and generalized anxiety were linked to increased risk of heart attack. Previous studies have demonstrated that depression is associated with an increased risk of heart attack and now anxiety is added to that list. The disturbing part of this research is that anxiety disorders were associated with anywhere from 25% to 43% increase likelihood of suffering a heart attack. Clearly our mood and mental health can affect our overall physical wellbeing including risk of heart disease.