Anxiety Doesn't Make The Heart Grow Sicker

Posting Date: 11/02/2000

Here?s a piece of good news for those of you who suffer from depression, anxiety and stress. A major new study says your emotional attitude is apparently unrelated to coronary artery disease.

In other words, psychological variables aren?t a trigger for the buildup of coronary-artery calcification that can lead to heart problems, according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine.

This is a good prospective study that assessed 630 U.S. soldiers ages 39 to 45 without known coronary artery disease for depression, anxiety, somatization, hostility and stress.

Researchers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center used electron-beam computed tomography to measure coronary artery calcification and matched the results with emotional attitudes. The analysis showed no correlation between the coronary-calcification score and the scores measuring depression, anxiety, hostility, or stress.

One interesting finding was that somatization -- where there are complaints of physical symptoms without any medical basis -- was associated with the absence of calcification.

So, while being anxious or stressed out might cause some health problems, it?s a relief to know such emotional attitudes don?t contribute to coronary artery disease.

Source: New England Journal of Medicine, Nov. 2, 2000 (Patrick G. O?Malley, M.D., et al, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C.)

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