Posted on Mar 25, 2016
PTSD in Veterans Tied to Worse Heart Health
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Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans is associated with worse vascular function, which can increase their risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and death, according to researchers at UC San Francisco and the affiliated San Francisco VA Health Care System.
The study, which appears in the March 2016 issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association, found that veterans with PTSD were more likely to have worse endothelial vascular function, which controls the flow of nutrients and toxins from the blood stream to the brain and body, and plays a key role in blood vessel dilation, blood pressure, clotting and inflammation.
“If other studies confirm that patients with PTSD have worse endothelial function, this could be an important target in our efforts to prevent CVD and improve the health of veterans with PTSD,” said senior author Beth Cohen, MD, associate professor of medicine at UCSF Health and SFVAHCS.
An estimated 7.7 million Americans suffer from PTSD. Many veterans returning from tours are affected by PTSD and, over time, the effects may be physical as well as mental.
The study, which appears in the March 2016 issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association, found that veterans with PTSD were more likely to have worse endothelial vascular function, which controls the flow of nutrients and toxins from the blood stream to the brain and body, and plays a key role in blood vessel dilation, blood pressure, clotting and inflammation.
“If other studies confirm that patients with PTSD have worse endothelial function, this could be an important target in our efforts to prevent CVD and improve the health of veterans with PTSD,” said senior author Beth Cohen, MD, associate professor of medicine at UCSF Health and SFVAHCS.
An estimated 7.7 million Americans suffer from PTSD. Many veterans returning from tours are affected by PTSD and, over time, the effects may be physical as well as mental.
PTSD in Veterans Tied to Worse Heart Health
Posted from ucsf.edu
PTSD
Health
Mental Health
Edited >1 y ago
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs Sir, this is not great news, but to add to there is significant evidence of diabetes type 2 being tied to PTSD. See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24950602 for additional information. Thank you for sharing and much like LTC Stephen F. I am hopeful the VA will begin to examine and treat the long term health effects of comorbid diagnosis pertaining to PTSD. Thank you for this article.
Posttraumatic stress disorder and incidence of type-2 diabetes: a prospective twin study. -...
J Psychiatr Res. 2014 Sep;56:158-64. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2014.05.019. Epub 2014 Jun 9. Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.; Twin Study
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs Honestly, I'm not surprised considering that prior to deploying on my first deployment in 2003-2004 that my blood pressure was relatively normal and since then I've had spikes that were showing signs of Hypertension Stage One. Thank you for sharing this with the group!
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