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Anxiety Doubles the Risk of Fatal Heart Attacks

Everybody’s heard that phrase – we’re worried sick. New research now confirms it’s true.

While previous studies have shown that stress from mental agitation and depression have dangerous effects on the heart and the entire cardiovascular system, research performed at the Lown Cardiovascular Research Foundation by a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School has found that highly anxious individuals with heart disease are at double the risk of heart attack or death when compared to people with a calmer take on life.

In the study, 516 patients with coronary artery disease were followed for over 3 years. At the beginning and each year thereafter the patients answered a questionnaire about their previous week, whether they felt optimistic or anxious, how well they slept and whether they had an upset stomach or bowels in that period.

During the 3 years, 19 patients died and 44 had nonfatal heart attacks. The data was analyzed for anxiety activity and adjusted for age. The group with the highest anxiety scored double the risk for heart attack or death when compared with the lowest scoring group. A doctor engaged in the study, Dr. James L. Januzzi, of the cardiac intensive care unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, commented, "This study provides further insight into the complex connections between the brain and heart." It also proves how vital stress relief is for the survival of so many Americans.

Different Types of Anxiety and Brain Activity

New research at the University of Illinois, published in the online journal Psychophysiology, has found hard evidence that two basic types of anxiety disorder produce two different models of brain activity. Researchers selected 42 volunteers, carefully screen from over 1,000 applicants.

While The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders lists almost a dozen different types of anxiety disorder, the scientists narrowed the field to two basic types: anxious apprehension (verbal rumination, worry) and anxious arousal (intense fear, panic, or both).

The researchers employed functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to identify the brain areas with increased neural activity during a series of psychological probes. As the scientists had forecasted, they were able to identify two different brain patterns: the anxious apprehension group revealed heightened left-brain activity, while the anxious arousal group showed an increase in right-brain activity.

More specifically, the anxious apprehension group revealed regional activity in the left inferior frontal lobe that is related to speech production. The anxious arousal group showed increased regional activity in the right-hemisphere inferior temporal lobe that is thought to be instrumental in tracking and responding to information signaling danger.

In the past, there have been other studies that have shown, through the use of using electroencephalographic (EEG), individuals with generalized anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) had increased activity in the left brain while individuals with panic disorder, panic symptoms or those subjected to high stress situations showed increased activity in the right hemisphere. However this is the first time, one of the doctors pointed out, that research has localized the affected regions to identify areas within each hemisphere that seem to matter.

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Sources: The Influence of Anxiety and Depression on Outcomes of Patients With Coronary Artery Disease Archives of Internal Medicine 2000;160:1913-1921 Mental Stress Induces Prolonged Endothelial Dysfunction via Endothelin-A Receptors Circulation. 2002;105:2817 Pathophysiological Processes Underlying Emotional Triggering of Acute Cardiac Events Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences March 14, 2006 vol. 103 no. 11

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