Friday, December 12, 2014

Heart Attacks and PTSD: How Heart Failures Fail to Leave

Post-traumatic stress disorder has always been associated with coming back from times of war however studies have shown that having a heart attack or stroke also greatly increases the risk of suffering from PTSD.  A study done by Dr. Karie Scrogin looked at a link between chronic heart failures and the levels of anxiety in rats.  A 2012 Time post stated that “as many as 1 in 8 people who survive a heart attack will go on to develop symptoms of PTSD.” (MacMillan).  Scrogin’s research provides similar support for this when she looked at the anxiety levels of rats that underwent some cardiac surgery or had chronic heart failure.  The rats were also exposed to an elevated plus maze to test anxiety levels.  The rats with heart surgery had a higher level of anxiety on the maze, staying away from edges and having more activity in the open arm part which is related to more severe anxiety-like behavior.  It showed that on average, rats that had the surgery had higher arterial blood pressure which would put them more at risk if anything were to happen to their heart.  Elevated blood pressure and increase heart rate are also symptoms of PTSD in humans.  The rats’ behavior mimics symptoms from people who have PTSD as those people also have higher anxiety levels than normal.  In humans the high anxiety levels cause them to be twice as likely to have a second heart attack or another heart related problem within three years following the first heart attack.
            Studies like Scrogin’s are important because it gives insight on what happens in rats after they are given heart surgery and then compare it to the human system.  In Scrogin’s paper “Persistent alterations in heart rate variability, baroreflex sensitivity, and anxiety-like behaviors during development of heart failure in the rat”, she says that her results “suggest that the increased incidence of panic disorder observed in human patients with heart failure may be a result of, rather than a cause of, ventricular dysfunction”.  Something I found interesting about that is that these high anxiety levels, panic disorders, and symptoms of PTSD are considered to be a result of heart failure. However it is also said that PTSD increases the risk of having a second heart problem which makes me believe it is both a cause and result of heart issues.  Scrogin mentions that “the mechanism by which heart failure affects the central regulation of anxiety behaviors remains to be determined”.  Thanks to Scrogin’s research we have a better understanding of the human response to chronic heart failure which opens opportunities for others to expand on her research and research the mechanisms of how heart failure affects anxiety levels.  Perhaps once we understand those mechanisms someone will be able to then link back to PTSD and as a society we can be better prepared to aid people who suffer through some sort of heart issue.

Henze, M., Hart, D., Samarel, A., Barakat, J., Eckert, L., & Scrogin, K. (2008). Persistent alterations in heart rate variability, baroreflex sensitivity, and anxiety-like behaviors during development of heart failure in the rat. American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 295(1), H29-H38.

MacMillan, A. (2012, June 21). Heart Attacks Can Trigger Post-Traumatic Stress. Time. Retrieved from http://www.healthland.time.com/2012/06/21/heart-attacks-can-trigger-post-traumatic-stress/

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