TUESDAY, Feb. 23, 2016 (HealthDay News)
Women with an anxiety disorder may have less blood going to their heart when exercising, according to a new study — and researchers suggest doctors may sometimes miss signs of heart disease in these women. In women who had never been diagnosed with heart disease, researchers found that those with anxiety were 75 percent more likely than women without anxiety to have reduced blood flow to the heart during activity. Study author Kim Lavoie says the findings may indicate that anxiety symptoms such as chest discomfort or palpitations — which can overlap those of heart disease — may mask heart disease in women. This could lead to misdiagnosis, she said.