Recognize Depression Before Its Too Late! It Can Lead To Heart Diseases – TheHealthSite

Did you know that depression can lead to heart diseases and vice versa? It's true and you should address the problem before it takes a toll on you.

Written by Arushi Bidhuri | Published : October 13, 2021 8:16 AM IST

Depression is a prominent disease that affects millions around the world, and the pandemic made things worse. The unprecedented consequences of the pandemic that hit the world in 2019 made things worse. Statistics suggest that more than 43 per cent of Indians suffer from the disease, and more than half of this percentage doesn't even know about it.

Well, it is not completely the person's fault as science says that it can be tough to know that you're depressed. But it is important to know the symptoms of depression because if left untreated, it can lead to dire consequences. In fact, studies suggest that people with depression can suffer from heart diseases. We talked to Dr Tilak Suvarna, Senior Interventional Cardiologist, Asian Heart Institute to understand the link between the two.

Dr Suvarna says, "The relationship between depression and heart disease has been known for a long time. In fact, it is a two-way relationship. Depression has been shown to be associated with heart attacks and is present in up to 25% of people suffering from heart disease. On the other hand, having had a heart attack can lead to depression in quite a number of patients."

"There is a significant body of evidence showing that compared with people without depression, adults with a depressive disorder or symptoms have a nearly 60 per cent greater risk of developing coronary artery disease or having a heart attack or cardiac death."

However, this relationship remains enigmatic. Does depression really cause heart disease? Is depression one of the risk factors causing heart disease? Or is depression just a consequence of having heart disease or major heart surgery? These questions have been difficult to answer as it is not possible to measure depression the way one can measure blood pressure, blood glucose, blood cholesterol, body weight, etc. The relationship, therefore, remains observational at its best.

Further explaining the link and how exactly does depression lead to heart diseases, Dr Suvarana said:

Recent research has thrown newer insights into the likely independent causative link between depression and heart disease. Having depression can lead to autonomic nervous system dysfunction, elevated cortisol levels, and elevated markers of inflammation, all of which can increase the risk of having a heart problem. However, this needs confirmation from additional large-scale studies. Also, to establish a definite cause-effect link between depression and heart disease, there have to be studies showing that treatment of depression can result in a reduction of risk of having future heart disease.

On the other hand, depression could have an indirect link with causing heart disease. Depression could lead to inappropriate lifestyle habits like smoking, lack of exercise, unhealthy dietary habits, and poor adherence to medications, all of which can increase the risk of developing hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia and obesity, which are known conventional cardiac risk factors and have been proven to increase the risk of cardiac disease.

Thus, there are multiple pathways through which depression can lead to heart disease and future research should enlighten us further.

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Recognize Depression Before Its Too Late! It Can Lead To Heart Diseases - TheHealthSite