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Negative emotions may mean trouble for heart

Adding to evidence that depression, anxiety and hostility can be hard on the heart, new research links negative emotions to a higher risk of coronary heart disease in men.

Among nearly 500 older men followed for three years, higher scores on a standard measure of negative emotions were tied to a higher risk of developing heart disease. The test gauged psychological factors like depressed mood, anxiousness, pessimism and distorted thought processes such as concentration problems.

For each one-point increase in these scores, heart disease risk climbed 6 percent, according to findings published in the American Journal of Cardiology.

Most importantly, the study's lead author said, men who harbored such emotions faced greater heart risks even when other key factors, like abdominal obesity, high blood pressure and insulin resistance, were taken into account.

This gives further evidence that negative emotions themselves have important effects on heart health, according to Dr. John F. Todaro, of Brown Medical School in Providence , Rhode Island .

He told Reuters Health there are several possible explanations for the connection. One has to do with heart rate variability, the normal fluctuations in a person's heart rate. People who are depressed or who have hostile personalities may have decreased heart rate variability, which puts stress on the system.

"The heart is working overtime," Todaro explained.

Another possibility has to do with inflammation in the cardiovascular system. Recent research suggests that depressed or hostile individuals have higher levels of inflammatory proteins and other "markers" in the blood, according to Todaro. It's widely believed that such continuous, system-wide inflammation plays an important role in coronary artery disease.

Todaro also pointed to a non-biological explanation: People with chronically negative feelings may be less likely to stick with medical advice or regimens that could prevent heart complications.

Another major question that remains unanswered is whether addressing emotional issues might prevent some cases of heart disease.

"If you treat negative emotions, what are the outcomes?" Todaro wondered.

Research into this area, he noted, has not yet been fruitful, but it is also in the very early stages.

Source: American Journal of Cardiology, October 15, 2003.


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