Depression is a debilitating disease that causes sufferers to live in emotional anguish. How we feel is a result of the chemical signals received by our brain in response to certain stimuli. Sufferers of depression feel intense feelings of sadness and despair that persist longer than normal feelings of sadness. Each case varies slightly, depending on the individual, but the overall effects are nonetheless crippling. As a result, the brain and body become stressed and day-to-day activities become difficult to carry out, including the day-to-day functions of the heart.
A new study by the American Heart Association shows that women, under the age of 55, who’re suffering from depression are twice as likely to suffer a heart attack or other related heart disease. Researchers looked into symptoms of depression in 3,237 participants with known or suspected heart disease. Approximately 34 percent of the participants were women and the average age was 62.5. The study’s participants were scheduled for a coronary angiography, an X-ray that helps to detect and diagnose diseases in the arteries that supply blood to the heart. These tests and observations were continuously conducted over a three year period.
After three years of cardiac monitoring, observation and study, results suggested a strong correlation between depression and heart disease, especially in women under the age of 55. After adjusting for other heart disease risk factors, each additional one-point increase in the symptoms associated with depression, increased their chance of suffering heart disease by about seven percent. Women under the age of 55 were 2.17 times as likely to suffer a severe heart condition when recovering from severe or moderate depression.
Depression has always been thought of as a condition that requires serious attention, but after seeing the results of this study the American Heart Association further stresses the importance of taking care of depression as soon as possible to prevent problems from developing in the heart.
To learn more about the importance of a healthy lifestyle to your heart’s health, as well as cardiac monitoring, visit ReactDx Inc. today. Also, share this post to help educate your friends and family of the importance of dealing with depression to increase heart health.
