Depression Help

People who suffer from severe depression following a heart attack might be more likely to experience cardiac complications while hospitalized, according to a new study.


Lead author Jeff Huffman, M.D., and assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School said,"There is good evidence that if a person has depression after a heart attack, they are more likely to die from cardiac causes in the following months and years. But it can not studied yet whether depression impacts cardiac outcomes immediately after a heart attack-the time we see the most complications."


There are 129 patients included in the study at Massachusetts General Hospital. Within 72 hours of having a heart attack, each participant underwent an interview to determine if he or she suffered from depression or not. 17 of the original group members had a diagnosis of major depression lasting for at least two weeks.


Major depression was a significant predictor of heart rhythm problems, congestive heart failure or a second heart attack.


Huffman added,"The results suggest that physicians should be especially mindful of treating depression in patients with cardiac risk factors, and also suggest close in-hospital monitoring of heart attack patients with major depression given this increased risk for complications."


David Bush, M.D., associate professor at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Heart Institute said,"Surprising thing is that differences in outcomes were seen in a relatively short time and the new observation is that risk for these bad outcomes start while patients are still in the hospital".