Photo: flickr
Depression and heart disease are not only incredibly common, they also appear to be intrinsically linked. After a heart attack or heart failure, some individuals who have never been troubled by depression can find themselves under its spell. Conversely, people who have suffered from depression seem more likely to develop heart problems later in life.
A new study, carried out at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City, UT, investigates this relationship further.
The results showed that individuals who were no longer depressed had similar rates of heart disease as those who had never been depressed (4.6% and 4.8%, respectively). However, in the group of individuals who had become depressed during the study or remained depressed, the rates of cardiac disease were higher (6% and 6.4%, respectively).
In other words, treatment for depression resulted in a decreased level of cardiovascular risk that was roughly equivalent to someone who did not have depression.
Category(s):Depression, Health / Illness / Medical Issues
Source material from American College of Cardiology
