Hypochondriacs Have Higher Risk of Heart Disease

For those who worry regularly that something drastic is going to happen to their health, especially for those who envision having a heart attack, Norwegian researchers warn that constantly thinking that way is more likely to make such a happening occur. Their study, which was published online in the journal BMJ Open on November 3, 2016, indicates that people who fret over their health are as much as twice as likely to experience chest pain, or have an actual heart attack when compared to people who aren't anxious about their health.

Dr. Line Iden Berge, lead researcher from the division of psychiatry at Norway’s University of Bergen goes as far as to say that people who experience high levels of health anxiety have approximately a 70 percent increase in heart disease risk, after accounting for other known factors such as drinking alcohol, smoking, not taking part in physical activity, and a family history. She added that even relatively low health anxiety levels can increase the risk when compared to people who don’t have symptoms of health anxiety.

The study collected data on over 7,000 people born between 1953 and 1957 who participated in a Norwegian Hordaland Health Study. Between 1997 and 1999, their physical checkups included height, weight, blood pressure, and blood tests. All the people were followed until the end of 2009. Excluded were those who were actually treated for heart disease or died from the disease within the year after the study started, because they may already have been ill.

Participants completed two questionnaires regarding their lifestyle, health, and education. The team found that just over 700 people’s scores identified them as being anxious about their health. Only three percent of the participants (234) had acute chest pain (angina) or a heart attack during the time of follow-up with the average time to the first incident a little over seven years. Those who developed heart disease were twice as high than those who were overly concerned about their health—six percent versus three percent.

Dr. Matthew Lorber, acting director of child and adolescent psychiatry at New York City’s Lenox Hill Hospital, said that when doctors have a patient who may be a hypochondriac, they should not just reassure them by saying that it is nothing and is just in their heads. This approach is a problem, because if the anxiety is not treated, the patient may well be at risk for what could be serious heart disease.  Lorber’s recommendation is to see a mental health expert for therapy and maybe taking anti-anxiety medication, which may make the therapy more effective.

Dr. Stacey Rosen, vice president at Northwell Health's Katz Institute for Women's Health in New Hyde Park, New York, said that the relationship between cardiac health and behavioral health issues is a critical part of all that we do for cardiac patients. Rosen feels that the first step for people with health anxiety is to locate a doctor that they can really have faith in, one that there is trust in, and one who can customize the approach to health.

Learning about one’s particular health conditions is important, and research should be done at credible sites such as the U.S. National Institutes of Health.