Depression and Heart Disease

Research over the past two decades has shown that `than otherwise healthy people, and conversely, that people with depression are at greater risk for developing heart disease.

Heart disease affects an estimated 13.5 million American women and men and is the leading cause of death in the U.S.

While about 1 in 20 American adults experiences major depression in a given year, the number goes to about one in three for people who have survived a heart attack.

Depression and anxiety disorders may affect heart rhythms, increase blood pressure, and alter blood clotting. They can also lead to elevated insulin and cholesterol levels.

These risk factors, with obesity, form a group of signs and symptoms that often serve as both a predictor of and a response to heart disease.

Furthermore, depression or anxiety may result in chronically elevated levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline.

As high levels of stress hormones are signaling a "fight or flight" reaction, the body's metabolism is diverted away from the type of tissue repair needed in heart disease.

Despite the enormous advances in brain research in the past 20 years, depression often goes undiagnosed and untreated.

Persons with heart disease, their families and friends, and even their physicians and cardiologists (physicians specializing in heart disease treatment) may misinterpret depression's warning signs, mistaking them for inevitable accompaniments to heart disease.

Symptoms of depression may overlap with those of heart disease and other physical illnesses. However, skilled health professionals will recognize the symptoms of depression and inquire about their duration and severity, diagnose the disorder, and suggest appropriate treatment.

This Article is part of the NIH Publication No. 02-5004 article

• Part 1 Depression and Heart Disease Article
• Part 2 Depression and Anxiety Disorders May Affect Heart Rhythms
• Part 3 Depression and Heart Disease
• Part 4 Depression Facts
• Part 5 Depression is a Major Risk Factor for Heart Disease
• Part 6 Get Treatment for Depression
• Part 7 Exercise cures Depression and Heart Disease
• Part 8 Treatment for Anxiety and Depression in the Context of Heart Disease

If you think you may be depressed or know someone who is, don't lose hope. Seek help for depression.

You can find more information regarding Depression and heart disease at the NIH website

NIH Publication No. 02-5004

Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental Health May 2002