How Stress Influences Heart Disease
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Just days after he underwent an angioplasty, Vice President Dick Cheney is back at work. His aides and his doctors say he's just fine, but how have past administrations dealt with leaders' health problems? CNN senior political correspondent Candy Crowley has more on health and power.</s>CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The White House, the doctors, the patient all say things are OK. The worrisome part is that's pretty much what they always say when the powerful are less than healthful.</s>ROBERT DALLEK, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Presidents, vice presidents cannot show weakness. You must not be seen as incapable of performing your duties, and so what you have got to do is put up the boldest front possible and say, well, my health is fine.</s>CROWLEY: There is no evidence that Dick Cheney is anything other than fine, but it is what they said in November.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He sounded really strong, and informed me that as a precautionary measure, he went into the hospital. He was feeling chest pains, and it turns out that subsequent test, blood tests and the initial EKG showed that he had no heart attack.</s>CROWLEY: As it turns out, Cheney did suffer a mild heart attack in November, though initially Bush was told otherwise. The confusion and Cheney's refusal to release all medical data has created a suspicion that's also fueled by history. Grover Cleveland had jaw cancer. John F. Kennedy had Addison's disease. Ronald Reagan nearly died in the hours after he was shot. Vice presidential candidate Tom Eagleton was taken off the McGovern ticket in 1972 when it was disclosed he'd undergone electroshock treatment for depression. And the late Paul Tsongas ran for president as a cancer survivor, but later had a recurrence of cancer, which eventually killed him. History is full of presidents and politicians who lied about, hid, or only partially disclosed some very serious health problems.</s>DALLEK: Well, I think there is a feeling if you show that you have some kind of a limitation, that the public will -- the impulse of the public will be to reject your leadership; that you are going to lose your credentials, so to speak, as an effective leader.</s>CROWLEY: Bill Bradley had a minor heart condition that flared during his presidential campaign. For a day or two, the story overtook his campaign and obliterated his message.</s>ERIC HAUSER, FORMER BILL BRADLEY AIDE: In our case, and I think it is often the case, much more is made of the issue than medically is warranted. Bill Bradley is healthy as a horse, was, is. His minor heart condition had no effect on the campaign, and so forth. So you are reluctant in some ways to get into an issue that more gets made of than should.</s>CROWLEY: When Bradley's problem recurred, his campaign did not disclose the event until it was asked by a reporter. The cost them another day of questions about whether they were being forthcoming. (on camera): Cheney is in office at a time when keeping private even the smallest health details may no longer be viable. Over the past couple of decades, reporters have gotten increasingly more aggressive and vice presidents more important. Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.</s>PHILLIPS: Of course, Vice President Cheney has a very stressful job. But just how much does that stress harm his health? Joining us this morning to talk about workplace stress on your heart is Dr. Thomas Pickering. He's with Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York. Dr. Pickering, good to see you this morning.</s>DR. THOMAS PICKERING, MT. SINAI HOSPITAL: Thank you.</s>PHILLIPS: Do you think some with a heart condition or heart issues have -- take on, should take on a stressful job, for example, Vice President of the United States?</s>PICKERING: Well, we know that job stress can affect heart disease, but it really depends on two things -- what sort of job you have and what sort of person you are. And the type of job that we think is most stressful for the heart is one that's characterized by high demands and low control. So these are not usually the top executive jobs because executives are in control. The other factor, of course, is how you react to your job and people who are not good at handling anger or who tend to get very tense or anxious are also likely to be at increased risk of developing heart disease.</s>PHILLIPS: Interesting. You're saying someone with more control has less stress?</s>PICKERING: That is generally the case, yes.</s>PHILLIPS: You would think someone with more control would be more stressful, though, more to do, more to facilitate, more to organize.</s>PICKERING: Well, I think the whole concept of stress is that it's a threat to your well-being that you can't control and once you can control what's going on it automatically becomes somewhat less stressful.</s>PHILLIPS: At what point does a heart condition impair one's judgment?</s>PICKERING: Usually not very much because most of the work that is required is of a mental nature. It can impair your physical ability to exercise vigorously, to some extent, but it shouldn't have a big effect on the mental capacity.</s>PHILLIPS: What would be your advice right now to Vice President Cheney if he were to be your patient?</s>PICKERING: Well, I don't know a lot about his medical background, but in general I think it's very important to adhere to general lifestyle issues, exercise, eating a healthy diet, getting sufficient rest are all important and, of course, adhering to the advice of physicians about taking medications because they can make a huge difference.</s>PHILLIPS: Should he be measuring his blood pressure on a regular basis?</s>PICKERING: He or somebody else should be, yes. I think that's generally a good policy.</s>PHILLIPS: What else can a patient with a heart condition do on a regular basis, a daily basis, say, every couple of hours? I mean is there a daily routine that you suggest in addition to eating well and exercising, of course?</s>PICKERING: Well, trying to maintain a regular work habit, I think, is important, and getting time to reflect and to think, which may not be so easy in his particular case. But I think the diet and the exercise and the medications are the most important things at the present time.</s>PHILLIPS: Dr. Thomas Pickering, thanks so much for being with us and giving us a little insight on decreasing our stress.