Post-heart-attack angst can hurt your heart, German experts warn

"A patient who receives an implantable cardiac defibrillator after a heart attack is more than twice as likely to die within five years from sheer anxiety over their heart condition, according to a team of German scientists. Even patients who display no severe heart problems after the ICD is implanted have a higher risk of death owing to post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by the trauma of having suffered a heart attack, they said. Cardiologists often overlook such fears. They tell their patients they have nothing to fear but fear itself. But the patients remain terrified that another heart attack could strike at any time - and that fear increases the chances of another heart event. The study was published in the November 2008 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry" - EarthTimes