Extremely stressful events "may precipitate biological processes that increase one's risk of developing cardiovascular ailments," says the study published in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.
Before the terror attacks, 21.5 percent of the 2,729 adults who participated in the study had been diagnosed with a heart ailment. Three years later, the rate had increased to 30.5 percent.
Participants who reported high levels of acute stress immediately after the attacks were about twice as likely to report being diagnosed with hypertension and about three times as likely to report a diagnosis of heart problems over the following two years, said lead researcher Dr. E. Alison Holman of the University of California, Irvine.
"Among individuals reporting ongoing worry about terrorism post-9/11, high 9/11-related acute stress symptoms predicted increased risk of physician-diagnosed heart problems two to three years following the attacks," she said.
