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Heart-attack cases skyrocketed at one Brooklyn hospital after the 9/11 attacks, which supports the idea that psychological stress can be a trigger, doctors reported yesterday.
Several studies have shown that stress of various kinds can increase the risk of a heart attack, but the Brooklyn study shows a direct link between a traumatic event and heart attacks in a large population.
New York Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn treated 35 percent more heart attacks than usual in the 60 days after the attacks and 40 percent more cases of serious arrhythmia, Dr. Jianwei Feng and colleagues found.
They evaluated the cases of 425 patients treated at the hospital for possible heart attack or a serious heart-rhythm disturbance in the two months after Sept. 11, 2001.
Reuters
