How are depression and heart disease related? The Ministry of Health explains
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Depression and heart disease are interconnected. Depression increases the risk of heart problems, which often lead to anxiety or depressive disorders.
The Ministry of Health claims: on the one hand, this connection is determined by physiological mechanisms, on the other – by human behavior.
The overall prevalence of depressive disorders in the world is 4-10%, depending on the country. At the same time, among people with cardiovascular diseases, the prevalence of depression reaches 15-30%, according to a study published in Science Direct.
“What’s more, two out of every three people are hospitalized with a heart attack myocardium, for some time develop moderate depressive symptoms. And vice versa – people with major depressive disorder are almost three times more likely to have cardiovascular diseases than the rest. At the same time, these diseases appear in them 7.5 years earlier than in “hearts” without depressive disorders“, – the Ministry of Health provides scientific data.
| Photo: AndrewLozovyi/Depositphotos |
The Ministry also reminds that the American Heart Association and the European Society of Cardiology have recognized depression as a risk factor for coronary heart disease.
“Healthy people have a risk of survival a stroke or heart attacks dramatically increase threefold as soon as they have a depressive episode. People with persistent depression or those in whom the symptoms of depression manifest more “in the body” than “in the mind” have the greatest tendency to develop diseases of the heart and blood vessels. – they write in the Ministry of Health.
Why are heart health and depression linked?
The relationship between depressive disorders and cardiovascular diseases is caused by a number of physiological and behavioral mechanisms.
- Behavior – people in a state of depression often neglect to take the necessary medications (they lack the strength and motivation to do so), and therefore the existing diseases worsen. Also, they often abuse alcohol or cigarettes to “soothe the soul” – this increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, pathological processes in blood vessels and complicates the course of depression.
- Disturbed sleep. In the case of depression, such disorders accelerate diseases of the heart and blood vessels, because it is during deep sleep that the mechanism of normalizing pressure and slowing down the heartbeat is activated.
- Type 2 diabetes. This ailment is most often accompanied by other chronic diseases – obesity, high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, kidney failure and depression. The root cause of these ailments, like diabetes, often lies in disturbed metabolism. 40% of people with diabetes lose their mental well-being or even develop depression, according to the British Diabetes Association.
How to break the connection between depression and heart disease?
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| Photo: VitalikRadko/Depositphotos |
The Ministry of Health recommends Ukrainians to pay attention to their psycho-emotional state and not to explain constant depression by age, the situation in the country or winter, but instead to diagnose depression in time and resort to therapy.
“Yes, some depressive episodes go away on their own, but why risk it? Until the episode passes or drags on, because circumstances intensify it, chronic diseases or addictions may develop.” – the ministry explains.
If the patient has or has had depression, it is necessary to inform the family doctor about this, so that he may order an examination:
- cardiogram;
- extensive blood analysis for cholesterol (lipidogram);
- determination of glucose level on an empty stomach;
- analysis for the level of glycated hemoglobin.
If the patient has a chronic disease (diabetes, coronary heart disease, etc.), you should tell your doctor about your mental state. Overcoming depression will help to effectively adhere to prescribed treatment regimens.
Read also: Depression in mothers can negatively affect their children’s university studies – study
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