Contact: Sabrina Paterniti
Phone: 01.42.16.25.54
Email: paternit@chups.jussieu.fr
Embargoed until: March 16, 2002

BARCELONA, SPAIN-- The fact that anxiety increases the risk of sudden cardiac death has been known for some time. Now a new report suggests that men with an anxious personality are at higher risk of myocardial infarction.

That is the finding of a study on risk factors of cognitive and cardiovascular aging (EVA Study) directed by A. Alpérovitch and P. Ducimetière, research scientists at the INSERM, Paris. Results of the study were presented for the first time at the American Psychosomatic Society Annual Meeting, held March 13-16 2002 in Barcelona, Spain.

The research was conducted in 514 men aged 59 to 71 with no coronary heart disease at study entry. Participants were followed for up to seven years. Two questionnaires were administered to assess the study participants' anxiety and depression levels. All cardiac events were collected and validated on the basis of medical reports. Smoking status, alcohol use, blood pressure and current medication use were also assessed.

Dr. S. Paterniti and colleagues found that the most anxious people had the highest risk for non-fatal coronary accidents, in particular myocardial infarction. Among anxious men, the percentage of coronary accidents was twice higher than among non-anxious men.

Anxious men are often depressed, and depression may heighten the cardiovascular risk. In this study the link between anxiety and cardiovascular risk held regardless of the intensity of depression.

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