They have shown that this type of anxiety disorder does lead to an increased risk of heart problems – the relationship has not previously been scientifically proven. Research results published in the journal Journal of Applied Physiology… The study was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation (RSF).
People who have experienced a terrible event and a real threat to life develop a traumatic stress (or traumatic depression), which can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a severe type of anxiety disorder. Not everyone has PTSD: rather, a quick recovery of the psyche is the norm. However, many factors influence the development of the disorder, including childhood trauma or lack of public support. PTSD has been associated with cardiovascular disease and the risk of sudden death from heart disease, but this link has not yet been scientifically substantiated. Scientists have recently identified this connection in rats.
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For the experiment, the authors of the work formed two groups of 155 rats: control (53) and endangered (102). The conditions in which there is a threat to animals, scientists modeled using the smell of cat urine, which animals felt for 10 days. 14 days after the experiment, the rats were tested in labyrinths, and exercise tolerance, ECG, myocardial histomorphology, and other parameters were also checked.
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As a result, the second group was divided into two, that is, rats susceptible to PTSD, and animals resistant to the disorder. Experimental stress disorder developed in 40% of rats that could smell a predator: their indicators in all parameters were significantly lower than in the control group and in animals not subject to PTSD. In addition, in the latter group, inflammation decreased over time, the course of oxidative stress (that is, the destruction of cells due to their oxidation) subsided, and much more protective protein HSP70 was produced.
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Hence, they recovered from the cat urine experiment. Rats with PTSD developed multiple signs of heart damage.
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“Thus, we have proven that PTSD does indeed lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Now new tasks are emerging: it became clear that, in addition to psychological assistance, people with PTSD would also need supportive cardiotherapy, ”sums up Vadim Tseilikman, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor, Project Manager for a grant from the Russian Science Foundation, Director of the Higher Medical and Biological School of the South Ural State University (Chelyabinsk).
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Scientists from South Ural State University, Research Institute of General Pathology and Pathophysiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow), Research Institute of Human Morphology (Moscow), Vitebsk State Medical University (Belarus), Chelyabinsk State University (Chelyabinsk), Institute of Immunology and Psychology (Yekaterinburg) , South Ural State Agrarian University (Troitsk) and the University of the North Texas Center for Health Sciences (USA).
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