Prolonged Stress Disorder May Increase The Risk Of Heart Disease

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health have discovered that prolonged anxiety disorder or Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may increase the risk of heart disease.

PTSD may be triggered by traumatic memories coming from military combat, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, as well as from physical or sexual abuse. Symptoms of this type of anxiety disorder includes flashbacks, anger, difficulty of sleeping, emotional deadening, increased blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, and muscle tension.

The study from Harvard, published in the January Archives of General Psychiatry analyzed data from the Veterans Administration Normative Aging Study, a research project that examined the health of military veterans in the Boston area. Responses to questionnaires distributed to male World War II and Korean War veterans showed that those with stronger PTSD symptoms suffered higher rates of coronary heart disease. Laura Kubzansky, who analyzed the responses suggests that “prolonged stress and significant levels of PTSD symptoms may increase the risk of coronary heart disease in older male veterans.”