SOURCE: CNN.com/health
DATE: October 1, 2007
EXCERPT: "Women who reported at least one full-blown panic attack during a six-month period were three times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke over the next five years than women who didn't report a panic attack.
"It does tie together very well with what we know about the biology and physiology of the stress hormones," Manson said. "I think it does suggest that this is something to discuss with your doctor" for women prone to panic attacks. ... Previous research has found that panic attacks are more common in women than in men. ... Once the researchers adjusted for other health factors, they found the heart and stroke risk three times greater among women who had panic attacks. ... Laura Kubzansky of the Harvard School of Public Health, who wasn't involved in the new study but does similar research, said stress hormones may cause immediate heart damage or wear-and-tear over time. During panic, "the body is flooded with hormones that in the short run help the body cope with an emergency, but in the long run take a toll," she said. more
RELATED PUBMED LINK:
Smoller JW, Pollack MH, Wassertheil-Smoller S, Jackson RD, Oberman A, Wong ND, Sheps D. Panic Attacks and Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Events Among Postmenopausal Women in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2007 Oct;64(10):1153-60. PMID: 17909127 [PubMed - in process]
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