PTSD Unrecognized Risk Among Heart Attack Patients
PTSD Unrecognized Risk Among Heart Attack Patients
Stress Disorder Increases Risk of Second Heart Attack or Death
June 20, 2012 -- A heart attack is a traumatic event, physically and emotionally, but cardiologists don't pay enough attention to post-traumatic stress disorder among their patients, according to the author of a new study.
Not only does the disorder occur in 1 out of 8 such patients, the study shows PTSD also doubles a patient's risk of having another heart attack or dying.
"If it's a month after the heart attack and the patient is still preoccupied with memories of the heart attack, and they find those memories very disturbing (i.e., they are accompanied by increased heart rate, nervousness, anxiety), or if they're having nightmares about the heart attack, those are signs that PTSD may be an issue. Similarly, if the patient absolutely does not want to think or talk about the heart attack because it makes them too anxious, that's another sign to watch out for," says Donald Edmondson, PhD, an assistant professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.
Edmondson and his colleagues combed through the scientific literature for studies linking PTSD and acute coronary syndromes (ACS), such as heart attack and unstable angina, in which blood flow to the heart is suddenly blocked. They found 24 such studies with a total of 2,383 patients, of which 12% either developed PTSD or experienced symptoms that impaired their functioning in daily life.
Three of the studies they reviewed looked at the outcomes of ACS patients with PTSD. Together, the results of those studies, which included more than 600 participants, showed that patients suffering from the disorder after a heart attack were twice as likely to have another serious heart event or to die within approximately two years.
PTSD affects an estimated 5.2 million people each year, according to the National Center for PTSD, and 7%-8% of the population will have PTSD sometime during their lives. Those considered at risk for the disorder include soldiers and civilians who have experienced war, sexual assault survivors, and people who have been involved in -- or who have witnessed -- life-threatening events such as serious car accidents or a natural disaster.
People with the disorder often have nightmares or flashbacks to the traumatic event. They may lose interest in things they used to enjoy and feel numb. And they may have trouble sleeping or controlling their temper.
PTSD Unrecognized Risk Among Heart Attack Patients
Stress Disorder Increases Risk of Second Heart Attack or Death
June 20, 2012 -- A heart attack is a traumatic event, physically and emotionally, but cardiologists don't pay enough attention to post-traumatic stress disorder among their patients, according to the author of a new study.
Not only does the disorder occur in 1 out of 8 such patients, the study shows PTSD also doubles a patient's risk of having another heart attack or dying.
"If it's a month after the heart attack and the patient is still preoccupied with memories of the heart attack, and they find those memories very disturbing (i.e., they are accompanied by increased heart rate, nervousness, anxiety), or if they're having nightmares about the heart attack, those are signs that PTSD may be an issue. Similarly, if the patient absolutely does not want to think or talk about the heart attack because it makes them too anxious, that's another sign to watch out for," says Donald Edmondson, PhD, an assistant professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.
Edmondson and his colleagues combed through the scientific literature for studies linking PTSD and acute coronary syndromes (ACS), such as heart attack and unstable angina, in which blood flow to the heart is suddenly blocked. They found 24 such studies with a total of 2,383 patients, of which 12% either developed PTSD or experienced symptoms that impaired their functioning in daily life.
Three of the studies they reviewed looked at the outcomes of ACS patients with PTSD. Together, the results of those studies, which included more than 600 participants, showed that patients suffering from the disorder after a heart attack were twice as likely to have another serious heart event or to die within approximately two years.
About PTSD
PTSD affects an estimated 5.2 million people each year, according to the National Center for PTSD, and 7%-8% of the population will have PTSD sometime during their lives. Those considered at risk for the disorder include soldiers and civilians who have experienced war, sexual assault survivors, and people who have been involved in -- or who have witnessed -- life-threatening events such as serious car accidents or a natural disaster.
People with the disorder often have nightmares or flashbacks to the traumatic event. They may lose interest in things they used to enjoy and feel numb. And they may have trouble sleeping or controlling their temper.
