Persistent anxiety a killer in coronary heart disease

Persistent anxiety substantially increases the risk of death in people with cardiovascular disease, suggesting the need for psychological interventions in primary care, Australian cardiologists say.

In patients with stable coronary heart disease and persistent moderate-to-severe psychological distress, mortality rates are four times higher than their non-distressed peers, a long-term follow-up of the LIPID statin trial has found.

The study, involving 950 patients at 36 centres in Australia and New Zealand, found that those with high scores for anxiety or depression over four years also had three times the risk of