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Vietnam War Veterans With Ptsd At High Risk Of Heart Disease

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free_spirit_etc

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http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/2680/20130627/vietnam-war-veterans-ptsd-high-risk-oheart-disease.htm

"Vietnam War veterans with PTSD are twice more likely to suffer from heart disease than veterans with no history of PTSD, according to a new study.

Data for the study came from 562 middle-aged twins (340 identical and 222 fraternal) enrolled in the Vietnam Era Twin Registry. This is the first time that scientists have been able to establish PTSD to be associated with heart disease in Vietnam War veterans using cardiac imaging techniques. The study was conducted by researchers from Emory University Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta and their colleagues and was supported by the National Institutes of Health..."

"...The study was conducted on identical and fraternal twins, which helped researchers control the environment of the study

Experts found that the incidence of heart disease among veterans with PTSD was about 22.6 percent (177 individuals) while it was 8.9 percent in war veterans without PTSD (425 individuals). In a group of 234 brothers where one brother had PTSD, researchers found that the risk of heart disease was double for the one with PTSD than the other (22.2 percent vs. 12.8 percent).

"This study suggests a link between PTSD and cardiovascular health. For example, repeated emotional triggers during everyday life in persons with PTSD could affect the heart by causing frequent increases in blood pressure, heart rate, and heartbeat rhythm abnormalities that in susceptible individuals could lead to a heart attack," Viola Vaccarino, M.D., from Rollins School of Public Health and lead author of the study, according to a press release.

The link between PTSD and heart disease existed even after accounting for other lifestyle factors such as smoking, drinking and poor physical activity levels.

The study is published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology"

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  • HadIt.com Elder

RVN vets are presumptive for CAD/IHD via their exposure to AO. I am sure having ptsd is a strain on the heat and whole body. Your nervous system can be in overdrive all the time and that ain't good.

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Prior to the VA's AO IHD presumptive regs, some Vietnam Vets vets with PTSD proved their heart disease was due to their PTSD,with a strong IMO and treatises.

ORDER

Entitlement to service connection for cardiovascular disease 
to include hypertension and congestive heart failure as being 
proximately due to or the result of the service connected 
PTSD is granted.

http://www.va.gov/vetapp05/files3/0514550.txt

One aspect of my original DIC claim was that I claimed my husband's PTSD caused his heart disease.

I swipped a book from the VA library, written by a VA cardiologist ,who had autopsied hundreds of incountry KIA servicemen during the Vietnam war, called "Is it worth Dying For".as he had found an extremely high incidence of cardiovascular disease in these combat KIA servicemen who certainly had experienced the stress of battle and I sent the book to the VA as evidence.

They sent it back to the local VA library.and disregarded any Xerox excerpts I also sent from this book.

This was pre internet days but I also found in medical libraries, some treatises that also supported the point.

I won that claim under another basis but it sure ticked me off that they would disregard a book written by one of their own cardiologists.

That was long ago. We never talked about IMOs in the electronic vets community in those days.

If VA said your claim was not well grounded, you had little recourse to continue the fight.

The VCAA changed that but now more then ever, many vets find they need strong IMOs.to combat negative C & P exams.

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Indeed they did John.....

I do feel that I have almost forgiven them from killing my husband with piss poor care, but it sure was nice that they paid quite a bit of tuition under Chap 35 to allow me to graduate from a military school. AMU Check us out anyone.......

fully VA approved:

http://www.amu.apus.edu/

The USMC instruction I got at AMU turned me into a real mother.....if you catch my drift.....

ooops I ,mean monster, ha ha....

I was the only civilian there but since then I assume they have had more civs enrolled.

I used to be a normal person before I began dealing with the VA.

I had no idea at all it was truly a battleground.

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Great point. I am thinking though, as both the twins with and without PTSD were both Vietnam Veterans (and exposed to AO) that the increase in heart disease in the PTSD vets might lead to research / decisions, connecting heart disease to PTSD in other veterans - those PTSD vets not covered under AO presumptions.

RVN vets are presumptive for CAD/IHD via their exposure to AO. I am sure having ptsd is a strain on the heat and whole body. Your nervous system can be in overdrive all the time and that ain't good.

Edited by free_spirit_etc
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Berta,

The shame of the VA care and what it did to your husband and so many more, is really large when they continue to have the worst heart care of any of the major hospital systems in the country!!

The more vets they kill the more money they will save!!

If you are a vet and suffer from heart disease do not I repeat do not have the VA as your only source of care for it!!

Beg borrow and yes steal so you can get the proper care!

Stillhere

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