There are several factors that can lead to depression after heart attack. The stress of being in the hospital, the fear of another heart attack, time away from work can all contribute to feeling depressed, helpless, down and despondent.
Recent studies show that as many as 65% of people who have a heart attack report feeling depressed, down and despondent. A general state of despair. Moreover, women, people who have been depressed before, and people who feel alone and without social or emotional support are at a higher risk for feeling depressed after a heart attack. Two new Canadian studies have shown that More than twice as many women than men tend to fall into chronic depression after suffering a heart attack and are more likely to lead lives of poorer quality following their treatments.
So what exactly is depression ?
Clinical depression is medically defined as a persistently lowered mood or a general loss of interest that has been ongoing for at least two weeks representing a marked change from previous or 'normal' functioning. This differs from the 'blues' or 'miseries' that affect most of us at some point but pass more quickly and are less severe. Depressed people feel differently about themselves, their world and their future.
Depression, be it after a heart attack or not, is a medical illness, like diabetes or high blood pressure. The symptoms of depression may include some or all of the following:
• Feeling sad or crying often
• Losing interest in daily activities that used to be fun
• Changes in appetite and weight
• Sleeping too much or having trouble sleeping
• Feeling agitated, cranky or sluggish
• Loss of energy
• Feeling very guilty or worthless
• Problems concentrating or making decisions
• Thoughts of death or suicide
Can heart disease trigger depression or depression trigger heart disease ?
According to The American Academy of Family Physicians research has shown that people who are depressed and have pre-existing cardiovascular disease have a 3.5 times greater risk of dying of a heart attack than patients with heart disease who are not depressed. In a recent study, depression was shown to be associated with an increased risk of developing coronary heart disease in men and women. Depression was shown to increase mortality related to coronary heart disease in men but had no effect on mortality in women.
