I am so mad,, of what I heard on the news tonight

Ok first I want to warn people, if you obsess on things you might not want to read this,, I know I didnt want to hear it,, and now I am obsessing..
Tonight on the news they said that people who has at least one panic attack or more likely to have a heart attack or a stroke in the next five years...
First,, they said it like we can help having a panic attack.. like smoking or something...
Second,, I know people who has suffered for many years alot of people and they haven't had a heart attack or anything...
I just dont know about this,, and I hate when I get obsessive about stuff...
Ok,,, any body have an opinion...

Hi Lou

In all the years I have been suffering from, and studying anxiety, I have never read about any connection between panic attacks and heart attacks or strokes.

Heart attacks and strokes are normally the result of some kind of cardio-vascular defect or degeneration (ie. build up of fat in the arteries) and yes, if you were on the verge of a heart attack then I suppose the increased strain from a panic attack might tip you over the edge but for normal people, the physical strains of a panic attack are no more damaging than a run around the block.

Of all the medical research that is done, it's only potentially sensational stuff that makes it on to the news - for obvious reasons - so I would take it with a pinch of salt.

Chris x

I heard the same thing on the news. I thought yeah thanks that really helps and makes me feel a whhhhhole lot better. Thats all have to say on it but it is really frustrating!

Hi

I've done a bit of digging on this and here is what I found...

Firstly, all the research was done on post-menopausal women so age is a determining factor.

Secondly, when they say you are "twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke in the next five years" they are not talking about 80% compared to 40%, they are talking about 4% compared to 2%. In a sample of 3369 women, this could easily be circumstancial.

Thirdly, the results were altered to factor in other health problems, none of which were detailed in the news reports.

And finally, the research was carried out by GlaxoSmithKline, a leading manufacturer of anti-anxiety medication and the same company that was responsible for distorting the reports linking Seroxat (one of their brands) to teenage suicides.

These are facts; draw your own conclusions.

Chris x

Thanks for looking all that up... It was very nice of you to do that.
Have a good day,

Hi Lou

I get freaked out by these scare stories too so I had my own reasons for doing it :)

Chris x

That's nonsense. I've suffered from panic attacks for nine years, but I'm perfectly healthy--I work out every day, I eat a (relatively) nutritious vegetarian diet, and I don't smoke or drink alcohol. So, I don't think I'm in any danger of having a heart attack, because I do all the right things, and panic attacks aren't something that I can entirely control.

Hi mermaidgirl

Sounds like you should live to be at least 150 :)

Chris x

Panic attacks/anxiety are part of the bodies natural "fight or flight" response so they can't kill you.

Lisa
x

Ok first I want to warn people, if you obsess on things you might not want to read this,, I know I didnt want to hear it,, and now I am obsessing..
Tonight on the news they said that people who has at least one panic attack or more likely to have a heart attack or a stroke in the next five years...
First,, they said it like we can help having a panic attack.. like smoking or something...
Second,, I know people who has suffered for many years alot of people and they haven't had a heart attack or anything...
I just dont know about this,, and I hate when I get obsessive about stuff...
Ok,,, any body have an opinion...
yeah i get it myself. um so here's a question you should answer:
What are all the things I want to do before I die?

do you want to ....
ride a motorbike across china?
see the eiffel tower?
run a marathon?
start your own business?

you'll have plenty of time to be dead lol. worry about what you can do while you're still alive.

hope that helps.

It makes no sense that people who have a panic attack will have a heart attack.

If anything a panick attack is excercise lol! I have lost alot of weight from panics (although i need to put it on), providing you do excercise, your heart will be used a panic attack no problem as it's strong and used to doing heart pumping from time to time!

Yeh agree blood pressure goes up but then excercise keeps it down.. balance is restored... so try to see a panic attack as a great work out. Or at least some thing positive !

ive had panic attacks screaming waking up crying (when i was younger) etc since i was 6 varying from a few times a day to once or twice a month and im as healthy as a butchers dog, ok when i have an attack my heart leaps out my chest (ive had many comments from girls saying "your hearts beating hard isnt it?";)) and usually at 160+bpm which is exersize sort of bpm and lasts for ages, i sometimes think damn this fear of deaths gunna give me a heart attack (iroic) though in a mild attack it wouldnt supprise me if it gave the heart a work out and helped build muscle and prevent it, isnt life a bowl of cherries:)

it's all propoganda to sell the latest heart drugs probably. I've given up trying to understand the media industry in this country!

Sorry, if you start complaining about a country & the problems within your country, then you have to specify a country where you're from!!

I'm from the U.K. (England specifically myself), you an only sort of generalise about coming from 'a country'.

But, start writing about 'your country', we (rabidbadger mostly because he's a good help), but, anyway, I wish I lived in another country, just me being stupid;)

I've never been one for conspiracy theories but I do accept that there are probably a good deal of hidden truths and distorted figures that go into marketing drugs.

That doesn't take anything away from the original post. Panic attacks - unless you were on the verge of one anyway - don't cause heart attacks.

The only reason health anxiety concentrates itself on the heart and the brain is because these organs are quintessential for sustaining life. You don't get anxiety based on an in-growing toenail because that isn't instantly life-threatening.

Your body reacts the way it does towards anxiety because it has to. It is an indication that everything is working the way it should.

Tackle the thoughts, not the physical effects.

Chris x

Ok first I want to warn people, if you obsess on things you might not want to read this,, I know I didnt want to hear it,, and now I am obsessing..
Tonight on the news they said that people who has at least one panic attack or more likely to have a heart attack or a stroke in the next five years...
First,, they said it like we can help having a panic attack.. like smoking or something...
Second,, I know people who has suffered for many years alot of people and they haven't had a heart attack or anything...
I just dont know about this,, and I hate when I get obsessive about stuff...
Ok,,, any body have an opinion...
CHECK THIS OUT!
WHENEVER YOU SEE ALL THESE STUDIES DONE, AS FAR AS, SMOKING, EATING TOO MANY EGGS, ETC...
WHAT YOU HAVE TO REALIZE IS THAT THE GOVERNMENT PAYS THESE GRANTS TO CERTAIN ENTITIES TO COME UP WITH THIS BOGUS SHIT!!!
MORE THAN 90% OF THE TIME, THE STUDIES ARE DEBUNKED!!!! THEY HAVE TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING OR THEIR GRANTS ARE CUT OFF!!!
ALSO, A MAJORITY OF STUFF THAT THE FDA APPROVES TURNS OUT TO BE FATAL SO, I ALWAYS GO THE HERBAL ROUTE WITH MUCH BETTER RESULTS!
YOU JUST CANNOT BELIEVE THE FDA OR, ALL THESE STUPID SO CALLED, STUDIES!!!!
THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY BOGUS!!! DO NOT GIVE IT A SECOND THOUGHT!!!!