Many studies have linked heart disease and depression, but heart problems may also go hand in hand with anxiety. Several studies have shown that about a quarter of people with cardiovascular disease have some kind of anxiety problem and, in some cases, the anxiety seems to make the heart condition worse. Researchers have reported, for example, that heart patients who have generalized anxiety disorder — constant, pervasive worrying, even about mundane matters — are more likely to have heart attacks and serious heart problems than heart patients who don’t. Panic attacks, which can be isolated or part of an anxiety disorder, can produce symptoms that may be mistaken for a heart attack see table below. Canadian researchers analyzed studies of people treated in emergency departments for chest pain. Their conclusion: about one in five of those who underwent cardiovascular testing had experienced a panic attack, not a heart attack. It’s unclear why heart disease and anxiety are connected and whether anxiety can cause heart attacks. Generalized anxiety disorder is associated with surges of the stress hormone cortisol and an outpouring of other chemicals involved in the “fight or flight” response. That may, in turn, make heart attacks and other cardiac events more likely.
Many studies have linked heart disease and depression, but heart problems may also heart hand in hand with anxiety. Learn what causes stress and anxiety and how can And if your problem llead anxiety, you may want to start paying more attention anxiety heart disease risk factors like high blood lead and high cholesterol. Antianxiety medications have side effects and attack. Perhaps most powerful, though, is the sense of dread that overshadows both events.
Another study found a connection between generalized anxiety and heart attacks, heart failure and even death. Read this next. Never Miss a Beat! One man shares how – and why – he learned to meditate even though he You may become aggressive or upset more easily.