Memory problems after ischemic heart disease episodes: effects of stress, benzodiazepines and smoking.

Post-IHD episode memory problems and their correlates were investigated among 157 male ischemic heart disease patients under the age of 65. Twenty-five per cent of these patients reported memory difficulties originating during the year following admission to hospital. Of the wide variety of socio-demographic factors, measures of disease severity, and lifestyle variables evaluated, only three differentiated those patients with post-IHD episode memory problems from patients with no memory difficulties. These three were: quitting smoking during the year following hospitalization, using psychotropic drugs (benzodiazepines), and having high psychosocial stress levels one year after discharge. Further analysis revealed that stress was related to memory problems primarily because stressed patients were more likely to use psychotropic drugs. It was suggested that the relationship between quitting smoking and memory problems could be explained by reference to two contradictory effects of tobacco use: a short-acting memory facilitating effect due to nicotine and a longer lasting memory impairment due to smoking-related atherosclerosis which might persist long after giving up smoking.