Fear of Terrorist Attacks Is Connected with Heart Disease

Israeli researchers have found that fear and heart disease are linked. Their study, which involved 1153 healthy men and women, compared fear of terror attacks with levels of C-reactive protein. The protein is a strong predictor of atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases. The results showed that fear of terror almost doubled the risk of high C-reactive protein among the women.

Lead researcher Samuel Melamed, PhD, concluded, "This study demonstrates for the first time, in a sample of apparently healthy workers, that the psychological reaction of chronic fear of terror has a negative impact on health in women." (The findings were reported in Psychosomatic Medicine, July/August 2004.)