Study Links Panic Disorder and Heart Disease

British researchers conducted a study to determine the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), acute myocardial infarction (MI), and CHD-related deaths in patients with panic attacks or panic disorder. This study analyzed and tracked medical records of participants from 1990 to 2002.

The study found that heart disease was more prevalent among all participants with new onset panic disorder or panic attacks, but was especially high among participants under age 50. It also suggested that the risk heart attack was especially high among younger female participants age 16 to 40 years with a diagnosis of new onset panic. There was no increased incidence of heart attack for panic participants over age 50. Although the incidence of heart disease and heart attack was increased for the panic participants, the death rate from heart disease was lower for all age groups with panic.

The researchers suggest that those with panic disorder or a history of panic attacks should be appropriately screened for heart disease. However, they also note that their results should be “interpreted with caution.” There are many limitations of this study, including misdiagnosis of some participants as having PD when, in fact, they were experiencing symptoms of heart disease.

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