PTSD Increases Heart Disease Risk

As a risk factor for heart disease, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is like “smoking two to three packs of cigarettes per day for more than 20 years,” according to a Geisinger study published in the July issue of Psychosomatic Medicine. The study examined over 4,000 Vietnam veterans and found that those with PTSD were more than twice as likely to die of heart disease and those without.