2023-11-07 00:15:00
Key Points The mind can affect a person’s heart health. Depression, anxiety and chronic stress can contribute to heart problems, a pair of new studies argue. Researchers say people with these mental health problems should be evaluated for cardiac risk factors
MONDAY, Nov. 6, 2023 (HealthDay News) — A person’s mental state can have a tremendous impact on heart health, two new studies report. Depression and anxiety accelerate the development of heart risk factors such as elevated blood pressure, high cholesterol or type 2 diabetes, one study found. And the second study found that chronic stress was associated with the development of heart disease and clogged arteries. “There are clear associations between psychological health and the risk of cardiovascular disease. These studies add to a growing body of data we have about how negative psychological health can increase the risk of heart and brain disease,” Dr. Glenn Levine said in an American Heart Association news release. (AHA). Levine presided over the writing of the association’s 2021 scientific report on psychological health, well-being, and the mind-heart-body connection. Both studies are scheduled to be presented at the association’s annual meeting Nov. 11-13 in Philadelphia and online. Research presented at meetings is generally considered preliminary until it is published in a peer-reviewed journal. For the first study on mood and heart health, researchers analyzed data from more than 71,000 adults collected from 2010 to 2020. They found that people diagnosed with anxiety or depression developed a new heart health risk factor about six months earlier on average than people without a mood disorder. Depression and anxiety increased the risk of a heart attack, stroke or other major event by about 35%. Additionally, the accelerated development of cardiac risk factors explained about 40% of the connection between mood disorders and major cardiac events. The researchers also found that those who had a genetic predisposition to stress tended to to develop their first heart health risk factor about a year and a half earlier on average than those without increased genetic risk. “Developing cardiovascular risk factors more than six months earlier for an average of five years is a lot,” the author said lead author, Dr. Giovanni Civieri, a postdoctoral researcher at the Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, in the release. “The fact that the genetic analysis supported the clinical findings was intriguing and provided more confidence in our results.” The second study looked at nearly 2,700 adults without existing heart disease participating in a Dallas heart study, who were followed for an average 12 years old. Participants filled out a detailed questionnaire about daily sources of stress, and researchers integrated their responses into a “cumulative stress score” for each person. The stress score was significantly associated with the development of heart disease, even after that the researchers took into account other risk factors such as blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and cholesterol. Stress was associated with a 22% increase in the risk of plaque buildup in the arteries and a 20% increase in % in the overall risk of heart disease. The researchers said that stress appears to directly affect physical well-being and also causes people to make poor lifestyle choices that increase the risk for heart health. Previous research has shown that hormones Released by chronic stress, such as cortisol, can affect blood sugar levels, inflammation and other systemic risks to the heart, the researchers said. “Indeed, there is a mind-heart connection. Taking care of your mind can impact your physical health too,” said stress study researcher Dr. Ijeoma Eleazu. She is a cardiologist in training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “It would be great to see more patients talking to their doctors about their stress levels and more doctors assessing high stress burden in their patients,” Eleazu said in the statement. “That way, we can work together to combat adverse outcomes.”More informationThe American Heart Association has more information about stress and heart health. SOURCE: American Heart Association, news release, November 6, 2023
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