Did You Know There is a Link Between Heart Disease and Mental Health?

January 26, 2021

What to know about the link between mental health and heart disease

A connection between mental health and heart health has been confirmed by the American Heart Association.

The AHA cites a "growing body of research" that shows good mental health can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and improve overall heart health in its statement, published Monday in the medical journal Circulation.

"There is increasing evidence that psychological health may be causally linked to biological processes and behaviors that contribute to and cause CVD [cardiovascular disease]," the statement reads, in part. "The preponderance of data suggest that interventions to improve psychological health can have a beneficial impact on cardiovascular health."

For those with cardiovascular disease, the AHA recommends mental health screenings done by health care providers and mental health as part of the treatment process.

Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News' chief medical correspondent, describes the types of mental health screenings that health care providers should provide as "a checkup from the neck up."

"Cardiologists should not just be listening to [a patient's] heart, but they should be looking at them and listening to their words and their feelings to see if they need intervention from a mental health or mental wellness perspective," Ashton said Tuesday on "Good Morning America." "But also, the primary care physicians, the health care providers that are seeing people before they have a diagnosis of heart disease need to be doing a checkup from the neck up."

"They need to ask how people are from a mental health standpoint," she said.

Ashton said that mental health conditions including depression, anxiety, stress, PTSD, isolation, loneliness, pessimism and anger can have negative health risks, including heart complications.

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Likewise, positive mental health conditions like optimism, mindfulness, emotional vitality and overall psychological well-being are good for the heart, according to Ashton.

"When we can’t see something we take it less seriously but we need to understand that mental health is not just the absence of something wrong," she said. "There are steps we can take to promote it and we need to get aggressive about that."

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The AHA's statement on the link between mental health and heart health comes as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues to have a negative effect on people's mental health.

Across the country, 45% of adults say the pandemic is having a negative effect on their mental health, a rate that increases for women, and Hispanic and Black adults, with those populations more likely to report a "major" mental health impact, according to a tracking poll released last year by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, causing about one in four deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ashton recommends using mindfulness practices and meditation as well as journaling and therapy to help reduce anxiety, depression and stress.

"Journaling has been found by psychologists to be even as effective or sometimes more effective as talk therapy but again for those people who are suffering, mental health professionals are there for exactly this reason," she said. "There is no shame in asking for help."

If you are in crisis or know someone in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741. You can reach Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860 (U.S.) or 877-330-6366 (Canada) and The Trevor Project at 866-488-7386.

Sean Llewellyn, MD, PhD, a resident in the ABC News Medical Unit, contributed to this report.

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Christopher 'Kid' Reid Reveals He Underwent Heart Transplant

February 12, 2026

Christopher "Kid" Reid, half of the hip-hop duo Kid 'n Play, is revealing he underwent a heart transplant, speaking about his health condition for the first time on " Good Morning America. " The rapper, who first gained fame in the 1980s and 1990s alongside collaborator Christopher "Play" Martin, spoke with "GMA" co-anchor Michael Strahan in a segment airing Thursday, sharing he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure after an emergency room visit last July. Reid said initially, he began experiencing fatigue and shortness of breath, which he said he attributed to getting older. "I think sometimes you kinda just chalk it up to, you know, 'I'm gettin' older,' you know, 'The road is harsh,'" he said. Eventually, when his symptoms intensified last summer, Reid said he visited an emergency room, where he received his diagnosis. Reid said he was first given medication to treat the condition, but at a three-week follow-up appointment, his cardiologist grew concerned. "He came in very swollen again, and that is a little unusual in somebody who's been started on treatment, for the swelling to come back that quickly," Erika Jones, Reid's cardiologist, told "GMA." That evening, instead of flying across the country for a performance as Reid had planned, Jones urged him to stay put and ran additional bloodwork. "The blood work confirmed my suspicion. It showed that his heart was failing, and it was starting to affect his other organs," Jones said. Reid said he received a call a few hours after his appointment, urging him to go to the emergency room, where he was rushed to the ICU. Reid was told by doctors that a heart transplant would be his only option, and he was placed on a transplant waitlist. Cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Laura Dichiacchio, one of Reid's doctors, told "GMA" that Reid was placed on the transplant waiting list because it was "a kind of life or death situation." Dichiacchio described Reid as "warm" and "incredibly calm." Reid said eight days after being placed on the transplant waitlist, he received a call with the welcome news that he would get a new heart the following evening. Reid said he arrived for the surgery, and seven hours later, he had a new heart. Reid said he plans to cherish his second chance at life, saying, "This thing is ... a beautiful life. It's great. And, you know, I wanna be around for it." He added that he hoped to inspire others, particularly people of color, to put their health first and seek medical attention when things don't feel right. "A lot of times, we don't go because we don't want the bad news, or we too busy just hustlin', trying to make it from day to day," he said. "And we ... feel like we don't got time, or we'll get over it. Well, you might not." According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the U.S., about 6.7 million adults aged 20 or older have heart failure, a condition that happens "when the heart cannot pump enough blood and oxygen to support other organs in your body." The CDC cites hypertension, diabetes, and coronary artery disease as common risk factors for the disease. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, heart failure is a serious condition that requires medical care. Treatment can include heart-healthy lifestyle changes such as lower sodium intake, regular physical activity, and limited alcohol consumption, as well as medication, devices such as a pacemaker, and heart surgery or transplant.