Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016 Nov;18(11):101.
doi: 10.1007/s11920-016-0739-5.

Anxiety Disorders and Cardiovascular Disease

Christopher M Celano  1   2 , Daniel J Daunis  3   4 , Hermioni N Lokko  3   5 , Kirsti A Campbell  3   4 , Jeff C Huffman  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Anxiety Disorders and Cardiovascular Disease

Christopher M Celano et al. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2016 Nov.

Abstract

Anxiety and its associated disorders are common in patients with cardiovascular disease and may significantly influence cardiac health. Anxiety disorders are associated with the onset and progression of cardiac disease, and in many instances have been linked to adverse cardiovascular outcomes, including mortality. Both physiologic (autonomic dysfunction, inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, changes in platelet aggregation) and health behavior mechanisms may help to explain the relationships between anxiety disorders and cardiovascular disease. Given the associations between anxiety disorders and poor cardiac health, the timely and accurate identification and treatment of these conditions is of the utmost importance. Fortunately, pharmacologic and psychotherapeutic interventions for the management of anxiety disorders are generally safe and effective. Further study is needed to determine whether interventions to treat anxiety disorders ultimately impact both psychiatric and cardiovascular health.

Keywords: Anxiety; Cardiovascular disease; Generalized anxiety disorder; Panic disorder; Post-traumatic stress disorder.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Potential mechanisms mediating the relationships between anxiety disorders and cardiac health
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Grace SL, Abbey SE, Irvine J, Shnek ZM, Stewart DE. Prospective examination of anxiety persistence and its relationship to cardiac symptoms and recurrent cardiac events. Psychother Psychosom. 2004;73(6):344–52. doi:10.1159/000080387. - PubMed
    1. Hanssen TA, Nordrehaug JE, Eide GE, Bjelland I, Rokne B. Anxiety and depression after acute myocardial infarction: an 18-month follow-up study with repeated measures and comparison with a reference population. Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil. 2009;16(6):651–9. doi:10.1097/HJR.0b013e32832e4206. - PubMed
    1. Koivula M, Tarkka MT, Tarkka M, Laippala P, Paunonen-Ilmonen M. Fear and anxiety in patients at different time-points in the coronary artery bypass process. Int J Nurs Stud. 2002;39(8):811–22. doi:S0020748902000226 [pii] - PubMed
    1. Easton K, Coventry P, Lovell K, Carter LA, Deaton C. Prevalence and measurement of anxiety in samples of patients with heart failure: meta-analysis. J Cardiovasc Nurs. 2015 doi:10.1097/JCN.0000000000000265. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brouwers C, Denollet J, Caliskan K, de Jonge N, Constantinescu A, Young Q, et al. Psychological distress in patients with a left ventricular assist device and their partners: an exploratory study. Eur J Cardiovasc Nurs. 2015;14(1):53–62. doi:10.1177/1474515113517607 1474515113517607 [pii] - PubMed

MeSH terms