Your genes could put you at a higher risk of heart attack during very stressful times.
Research from Massachusetts General Hospital found that people who have specific genetic traits, paired with anxiety or depression, are at a “significantly higher heart attack risk” during periods of social or political stress, such as presidential elections, winter holidays or even the Super Bowl.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, lead study author Shady Abohashem, M.D., instructor of cardiovascular imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, said that while the numbers are “striking,” the results overall are not surprising, since anxiety and depression alone have been associated with a substantial risk for heart attack regardless of genetics.
“So, if you have both conditions, you would expect to have a substantial increase in your risk,” he said.
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The impact of genetic susceptibility on heart attack risk could be an important factor for cardiologists and general care physicians to consider, Abohashem said.
He suggested implementing these screenings into cardiovascular risk assessments to help identify those people at most risk.
