Depression and Heart Disease: There is a Relationship

Heart failure and depression are related. Depression may independently worsen heart-failure outcomes.

Heart Failure

Heart failure, also called congestive heart failure, is a life-threatening condition in which the heart can no longer pump enough blood to the rest of the body.

Heart failure is almost always a chronic, long-term condition, although it can sometimes develop suddenly. This condition may affect the right side, the left side, or both sides of the heart.

As the heart's pumping action is lost, blood may back up into other areas of the body, including:

• The liver
• The gastrointestinal tract and extremities (right-sided heart failure)
• The lungs (left-sided heart failure)

With heart failure, many organs don't receive enough oxygen and nutrients, which damages them and reduces their ability to function properly. Most areas of the body can be affected when both sides of the heart fail.

The most common causes of heart failure are hypertension (high blood pressure) and coronary artery disease (for example, you have had a heart attack).

Depression

Major depression is when five or more symptoms of depression are present for at least 2 weeks. These symptoms include feeling sad, hopeless, worthless, or pessimistic. In addition, people with major depression often have behavior changes, such as new eating and sleeping patterns. Major depression increases a person's risk of suicide.

The exact cause of depression is not known. Many researchers believe it is caused by chemical imbalances in the brain, which may be hereditary or caused by events in a person's life. However, it now appears that heart failure and depression may be related. Is this due to the imbalance of chemo-neuro-hormones which the heart itself transmits?

Consequences of Heart Failure and Depression

The major consequence of people who have heart failure and depression is that their mortality significantly increases. Mortality means death. It is redundant to think about which comes first, the chicken or the egg; but with heart failure and depression it behooves us to research the relationship more indepth. It may save our lives.

Source

1. Sherwood A, Blumenthal JA, Trivedi R, et al. Relationship of depression to death or hospitalization in patients with heart failure. Arch Intern Med 2007; 167:367-373.