Most women can relate to depression on some level. Many of us have experienced either temporary depression such as the baby blues or depression caused by monthly hormonal changes. Others may have worked through full-blown clinical depression and come out the other side healthy and strong. There may be many women who simply suffer in silence and do not seek treatment. In doing so, they may be putting their long-term heart health at risk. Studies indicate that not only does depression interfere with your day to day activities, but it may also adversely affect your heart health. In striving to prevent heart disease, depression is a risk factor which is often overlooked.
I always thought of depression and heart disease as two separate and distinct illnesses. It turns out, this is a misconception. Depression increases your risk of heart disease. According to the Mayo clinic, the risk of developing heart disease is increased by as much as two to three times in persons suffering from depression. Women bear the brunt of this increased risk since depression tends to affect women disproportionately (2-1) over men. One study conducted by the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Veterans Administration (VA) found that depression may be a greater risk factor and indicator for developing heart disease than previously thought and may even be a greater risk factor than family history.
The Washington University/VA study is an ongoing study involving 1,200 male twins who served in the military. The participants were first assessed in 1992 and again in 2005 for a variety of conditions. All participants were free of heart disease at the beginning of the study. During the course of the study, participants who were depressed were found to have doubled the risk of developing heart disease compared to non-depressed participants. This was found to be true even between individual twin sets where one twin was depressed and yet the other twin did not suffer from depression. According to the first author, Jeffrey F. Scherrer, PhD, “ The findings strongly suggest that depression itself independently contributes to risk for heart disease.”
Many other research studies support the findings of the Washington University study. A Baltimore, MD study that followed a group of 1,551 participants who were all free of heart disease at the beginning of the study found that those with depression were four times more likely to develop heart disease over time. There were also more likely to actually have a heart attack than those who did not suffer from depression.
Another study conducted in Montreal, Canada followed a group of participants who were previously diagnosed with heart disease. This study found that those suffering from depression had a higher incidence of death (four times greater) over a six month period than non-depressed participants.
One out of three persons diagnosed with heart disease will also be diagnosed with depression. This compares to one in twenty in the general population. Depression tends to elevates stress hormones and lead to problems such as increased heartbeat, high insulin and cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and even a more rapid blood clotting process. These physiological side effects of depression may result in damage to the heart.
If you know someone who is suffering from depression, encourage them to seek the advice of a health care professional to not only treat their depression but to discuss the impact that their depression may have on their heart health. Persons who already have heart disease should also be monitored for depression and seek appropriate treatment provided as soon as possible.
Depression is often overlooked when assessing risk factors for heart disease. To improve your heart health and prevent heart disease, you must address all risk factors, including depression.
Until next time, here's wishing you a healthy heart.
Sources:
Heart disease in women: Understand symptoms and risk factors, Mayo Clinic, 17 Jan 2009, http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-disease/HB00040
Depression Increases Risk For Heart Disease More Than Genetics or Environment, 05 Mar 2009, Science Daily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090304182113.htm
Depression and Heart Disease, LiveStrong.com, 16 July 2009, http://www.livestrong.com/article/14351-depression-and-heart-disease/