Women who have been through a traumatic event or developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) face an increased risk of heart attack or stroke, a new large study suggests.
For women with severe PTSD, the study found a 60 percent higher risk of heart attack or stroke compared to women who hadn't experienced any trauma. The risk was increased 45 percent for women who experienced a traumatic event but didn't develop PTSD, the researchers added.
"Our study is the first to look at trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms and new cases of cardiovascular disease in a general population sample of women," said lead researcher Jennifer Sumner, an epidemiologist at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health in New York City.
[For more of this story, written by Steven Reinberg, go to http://consumer.healthday.com/...k-stroke-700847.html]
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