Anxiety is a serious health concern affecting a large part of the American population. A new research indicates that health anxiety might increase the risk of heart disease. Anxiety is a known risk factor for heart disease. A meta-analysis found that anxious people have a 48 percent higher risk of dying from a heart problem.

New research suggests that the consequences of health anxiety are also serious and the condition should be treated properly. Health anxiety occurs when a patient thinks about having a serious illness and seeks medical advice in case of no physical illness. The person tends to imagine or misread physical symptoms as serious and often seek repeated medical help.

Researchers led by Line Iden Berge, from the Helse Bergen hospital in Bergen, Norway, examined the link between health anxiety and heart disease. The results were published in the online journal BMJ Open.

Twice as many participants with health anxiety developed heart disease, compared with those who did not report any anxiety.

After adjustments for established cardiovascular risk factors, researchers found a 73 percent increased risk of developing IHD among cases with health anxiety.

Regarding gender, a very slight increase in ischemic heart disease (IHD) risk was noticed in women with health anxiety over their male counterparts.

Health anxiety is often associated with other mental health issues, such as general anxiety and depression, so the different types of anxiety and ways in which they increase the risk of heart disease can be difficult to differentiate.

"[Our study] further indicates that characteristic behavior among persons with health anxiety, such as monitoring and frequent check-ups of symptoms, does not reduce the risk of [coronary heart disease] events," the researchers write.

The researchers say "These findings illustrate the dilemma for clinicians between reassuring the patient that current physical symptoms of anxiety do not represent heart disease, contrasted against the emerging knowledge on how anxiety, over time, may be causally associated with increased risk of [coronary artery disease]."

The findings "underline the importance of proper diagnosis and treatment of health anxiety," the team adds.

The authors conclude that "this finding might encourage patients to seek treatment for health anxiety and to trust their heart."

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