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Cited by 73Cardiac Health and Mental HealthCardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmiasHeart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control

Psychological Distress and Arrhythmia: Risk Prediction and Potential Modifiers

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Peacock, James, Whang, William·2013·Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases
DOI 10.1016/j.pcad.2013.03.001PMC PMC4014636
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Abstract

The connection between the heart and the brain has long been anecdotally recognized but has systematically been studied only relatively recently. Cardiac arrhythmias, especially ventricular arrhythmias that can lead to sudden cardiac death, remain a major public health concern and there is mounting evidence that psychological distress plays a critical role both as a predictor of high-risk cardiac substrate and as an inciting trigger. The transient, unpredictable nature of emotions and cardiac arrhythmias has made their study challenging, but evolving technologies in monitoring and imaging along with larger epidemiological data sets have encouraged more sophisticated studies examining this relationship. Here we review the research on psychological distress including anger, depression and anxiety on cardiac arrhythmias, insights into proposed mechanisms, and potential avenues for future research.

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  • Acute instances of distress can lead to immediate changes and even dramatic elevations in catecholamines.

    “Acute instances of distress can lead to immediate changes and even dramatic elevations in catecholamines. 102-107”

    From Psychological Health, Well-Being, and the Mind-Heart-Body Connection: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association (2021) · cites this paper as [105]

    The ‘Insights into mechanisms’ section says stress cardiomyopathy involves a profound catecholamine surge, supporting the possibility of dramatic elevations in a specific condition linked to emotional stress. It does not establish that acute distress generally causes immediate catecholamine changes. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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Authors
Peacock, J., & Whang, W.
Affiliations
Columbia University Irving Medical Center (US)
Corresponding author
Whang, William
ORCID
Whang, William
Venue
Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2013-05
Volume
55
Issue
6
Pages
582-589
ISSN
0033-0620 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.pcad.2013.03.001
PMC
PMC4014636
OpenAlex
W1979730955
Cited by
73
References
75
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 1
FWCI
0.59
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Columbia Academic Commons (Columbia University)
Funders
  • American Heart Association Founders Affiliate
  • General Electric Corporation
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiac Health and Mental Health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmias
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control
Keywords
psychological distress, cardiac arrhythmias, ventricular arrhythmias, sudden cardiac death, depression, anxiety, anger, risk prediction, arrhythmia triggers, mind-heart relationship
MeSH terms
Anger, Anxiety, Arrhythmias, Cardiac, Depression, Emotions, Humans, Mental Health, Prognosis, Risk Factors, Stress, Psychological

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