Cardiac event-induced PTSD symptoms and continuous heart rate in coronary artery disease patients.

OBJECTIVE: (PCL-5) are associated with elevated ambulatory HR in recently discharged cardiac patients, independent of PSS-linked health behaviors. METHOD: = 74) PSS wore 24-hr electrocardiography monitors and wrist actigraphy for 2 weeks, with beta-blocker adherence electronically tracked. RESULTS: = .009. This effect remained after adjusting for diurnal HR variation, age, sex, cardiac risk score, medical comorbidities, and three objectively estimated, PSS-linked health behaviors relevant to HR-physical activity, sleep episode length, and beta-blocker adherence. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest the potential value of targeting postcardiac event PSS to mitigate chronic sympathetic arousal. The use of intensive monitoring and high-resolution behavioral data strengthens the evidence for a physiological pathway linking psychological distress to elevated HR in cardiac patients. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).