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Interesting.
I think I have figured out what your therapist was reporting.
I just happened to catch an episode of 'Health on the Line' which is a panel discussion programme.
It featured one panel member who was a successful businessman who had suffered from panic attacks (severely too) and eventually had a heart attack playing tennis.
Along with him was a head of a Canadian psych org (cant recall name).
Anyways.. what they explained went like this - If you are having a lot of stress and anxiety this can lead to things like 'loss of appetite', weight loss, lack of proper sleep.
This along with the constant strain of Anxiety and then Depression hormones going UP and DOWN and roller coastering along can lead to a lowered Immune System.
(boy.. this is what happened to me this year)
Ok.. what he was actually saying was that with a lowered Immune System getting battered by every little disease that comes along - you 'could' start getting into trouble with more serious long term illnesses.
Heart disease being one of them.
So, I can understand why your therapist repeated this sort of theory to you.
But
Now that Ive heard it explained its not exactly saying 'Panic Attack can cause a Heart attack'.
Not at all.
Actually.. the Doc on this program was talking about lowered Immune as the danger.
He never said a thing about the actual Panic attack itself.
Back to our businessman - he described becoming very angry and intense playing tennis.
He joked that even as he was having the heart attack he was furious to 'beat this guy'.
But
He already has a weak heart at this point.. so there is where his 'panic attack and anxiety' could push it over the edge.
Its not the 'racing heart' itself that just 'makes it happen' per se.
And again.. it can be a full on 'anger attack' but it could have also been accelerating the heart from the Tennis
or
Making love to a much younger woman (classic movie reference hehe)
Or
Deciding to board the theme parks 'most terrifying ride ever'.
I will try and hunt down the actual report on lowered Immune and the risk of heart attacks if I can find that website.