Specifically, the study examined: (1) the relationship between anxiety and cardiac mortality; (2) the relationship between anxiety and vagal control; (3) the role played by reduced vagal control in mediating anxiety-related risk; and (4) the relationship between depression, vagal control and cardiac risk. Findings of a relationship between anxiety, reduced vagal control and sudden cardiac death would suggest the potential importance of early intervention in cardiac patients with anxiety disorders and would underscore the benefit of aggressive monitoring of arrhythmias in this population, which may ultimately translate to reduced mortality rates.