Panic attack link to heart disease?

British researchers discovered that people diagnosed with panic attacks were 38 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack and 44 percent more likely to develop heart disease.

Doctors taking part in the study speculate that excess nervous system activity associated with panic episodes can increase the odds of hardened arteries.

Ironically, the study also finds panic disorder patients are 25 percent less likely to actually die from heart disease.

The study is in the latest European Heart Journal.