The researchers noted that although a relationship between stress and heart conditions has long been established, the study confirms for the first time that there is also a link between chronic anxiety and heart attacks.
Conclusions from the study were taken from an experiment involving 735 men whose psychological and cardiac conditions were monitored for 12 years.
Biing-Jiun Shen, an assistant professor at the University of Southern California and lead researcher for the study, explained that the men had completed psychological tests back in 1986, and were without any heart problems.
Throughout the research period, the experts found that subjects who began to suffer chronic anxiety raised the risk of heart attacks by 30 to 40 percent. The risk level was said to be greater for those who had high anxiety levels.
"There is an independent contribution of anxiety that can predict the onset of a heart attack among healthy older men," U.S. News & World Report quoted Shen.
He added that other alternative factors of heart attacks - anger, hostility, depression, and type A personality - anxiety was found to be a predictor for a heart attack.
"The relationship between anxiety and heart attack cannot be explained by depression, hostility or type A personality," said Shen.
Dr. Nicea Golberg of New York University's School of Medicine and American Heart Association spokesman commended the study.
"This is very important research," the AP quoted her "because...we don't look at the psychological aspect of a patient's care."
She went on to say that doctors "need to be aggressive about not only taking care of the traditional risk factors...but also really getting into their patients' heads."
The study was published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
