Worried well ‘might boost heart risk’

Being one of the “worried well” might actually increase heart-disease risk, a study has suggested.

Norwegian researchers looked at health anxiety levels in 7,000 people who were followed for at least a decade.

Heart experts said anyone who felt they were experiencing ‘health anxiety’ should speak to their doctor, according to BBC.

Health anxiety describes when people have a “persistent preoccupation” with having or acquiring a serious illness, and seeking prompt medical advice, without any symptoms of an actual disease.

Dilemma

All were born between 1953 and 1957.

They completed questionnaires about health, lifestyle, and education and had blood tests, and their weight, height, and blood pressure measured regularly between 1997 and 1999.

They used a recognised scale called the Whiteley Index to assess anxiety levels.

The researchers also used national data to track hospital treatment and deaths in the group up to 2009.

And of the 7,000, 234 (3.3%) had a heart attack or bout of acute angina during the monitoring period.

Even after known risk factors were taken into account, the proportion of those succumbing to heart disease (just over 6%) was more than twice as high among the 710 considered to have health anxiety.

And the higher their anxiety score, the greater the risk of developing heart disease.

H.Z