Panic Attacks Can Give You A Heart Attack!

In the news recently, researchers were looking at a purported link between heart attacks and anxiety attacks, examining the role that stress can play in our mental and physical health. "In our modern society, stress ... hormones continue to wash through the system in high levels, never leaving," explains National Institute of Health scientists Dr. George Chrousos and Dr. Philip Gold. "And so, the stress response that once gave ancient people the speed and endurance to escape life-threatening dangers runs constantly in many modern people and never shuts down." Scientists wish to know the end result of panic anxiety over extended periods of time.

The lifestyle for a person being affected by episodes of stress and panic is full of continual suffering. The affected person feels constantly pumped up with stress, lurching from one manic rollercoaster to another. Sometimes a particular event will induce the panic attack, such as a sudden alteration of work responsibilities, hearing of somebody's health problem, watching a news story about an assault or theft in news reports or sitting in gridlock rush hour traffic. After the event, the individual may feel out of control for ten to 30 minutes, or it could spill over into the entire week end, waxing and waning. Sometimes the panic attacks anxiety came out of thin air and butterflies would appear in the stomach while putting on makeup, getting a cup of tea or seeking to fall asleep at night. Panic disorder patients feel light-headed, confused, short of breath, sweaty and their limbs might go numb. They wonder if it will ever end or if they are insane or if this stress can cause heart attacks.

So what are the physical effects of stress and anxiety attacks on the body? Dr. Paul Rosch wrote in the February American Institute of Stress newsletter that the secretion of stress hormone close to the heart muscle's nerve endings may cause heart attacks in people with low cholesterol and healthy arteries. Anxiety and depression can leave behind harmful chemicals that seep into blood and heart tissues, he added. In a 26-year follow-up study to the Framington Heart Study, 50% of people who developed coronary heart disease had below-average cholesterol levels but higher incidences of stress and attacks of anxiety. It's believed that stress can raise cholesterol levels more than fatty foods, although this tidbit is not discussed as much since there are so many lucrative cholesterol drugs on the market.

In the "Recurrent Coronary Prevention Project," direct links were tied from emotions and second heart attacks. Researchers found that women tended to feel panic attacks anxiety following their first heart attack, whereas men were more likely to feel hostile and angry about it. As indicated by Dr. Carl Thoresen, emotions play a major role in heart health. Dr. Stephen Weiss of the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute added that people "who make behavioral changes may be able to prevent subsequent heart attacks." In the study, men who underwent behavioral treatment for their anger and anxiety attacks had 44% less heart attacks than the group seeing only a cardiologist. Also, half of the 18 women who survived a second heart attack exhibited similar symptoms of agoraphobia panic disorder: they were afraid to be in crowded elevators, to drive, to go to work or go to grocery stores.