Stock market dips 'linked to heart attack surge' (USA)

Doctors have found a relation between stock market fluctuations and heart attack frequency, a preliminary study by North Carolina's Duke University Medical Center has said. "In analyzing our local patient population... during the recent period of increased volatility in the stock market, we found that when stock market values decreased, heart attacks seemed to increase, and then decreased when stock trends improved," said the study's lead investigator Mona Fiuzat on Saturday. The results of the research were presented at the American College of Cardiology's 59th annual scientific conference held this weekend in Atlanta. "While more and larger studies are needed to examine the reason for these findings, it?s important for healthcare providers to be aware of social stressors that may potentially affect their patients," Fiuzat said. The study focused on patients registered at the Duke Hospital Catheterization Lab between January 2006 and July 2009, using data from the Duke Databank for Cardiovascular Disease