Worrying about your health can almost double your risk of a heart attack, warns new research
People who needlessly fear they have, or will develop, serious illness - popularly referred to as 'the worried well' - are boosting their risk of cardiovascular disease, according to the study.
Experts including a team from the Sandviken University Hospital, Bergen, in Norway, analysed data for more than 7,000 people for their study, published in the journal BMJ Open.
They said that while general anxiety was already known to increase the risk of heart disease, health anxiety might have its own role.
Health anxiety often refers to a preoccupation with having or developing a serious illness, despite medical investigations suggesting no sign of disease.
All the people in the research were born between 1953 and 1957.
Health anxiety often refers to a preoccupation with having or developing a serious illnes
They filled in two questionnaires about their health, lifestyle, and education, and underwent health checks including blood tests, weight, height, and blood pressure measurements between 1997 and 1999.
Persons with high levels of health anxiety have about 70% increased risk of heart disease
The heart health of all these people was then followed using medical records up to the end of 2009.
Researchers excluded those people who received treatment for heart disease or who died from it within a year of starting the study on the basis they they may have already been ill.
Overall, the results found that 234 people (3.3%) suffered a heart attack or bout of acute angina during the monitoring period, most commonly around the seven year mark.
Research was carried out at the Sandviken University Hospital, Bergen, in Norway
Those people with health anxiety were twice as likely to suffer heart problems (6.1%) compared to those who did not (3%).
While other risk factors for heart disease - such as diabetes - explained part of the association, health anxiety was still linked to a heightened risk on its own.
General anxiety is already known to increase the risk of heart disease
The researchers said: “Persons with high levels of health anxiety have about 70% increased risk of heart disease relative to persons with lower levels after adjustments for established cardiovascular disease risk factors, including lifestyle factors.“
The team stressed that their observational study could not prove that anxiety caused heart disease, but they said the findings “underline the importance of proper diagnosis and treatment of health anxiety”.