By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on February 4, 2014
Groundbreaking research suggests the treatment of depression before any apparent signs of cardiovascular disease can decrease the risk of future heart attacks and strokes by almost half.
Jesse C. Stewart, Ph.D., of the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, says the research is the first to discover the potential cardiac benefit of depression care.
Previous studies we and others have conducted indicate that depression is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. But past depression treatment studies involving cardiac patients have not shown the anticipated cardiovascular benefits.
So we asked ourselves, what if we treated depression before the onset of cardiovascular disease? Could that cut the risk of heart attack and stroke? Our results suggest that the answer is yes, saidStewart.
The researchers followed 235 older, clinically depressed patients who were randomly assigned to standard care or to a collaborative care program involving antidepressants and psychotherapy.
Among the 168 patients with no cardiovascular disease at the start of the study, those who received collaborative care to treat their depression had a 48 percent lower risk of heart attack or stroke over the next eight years than did patients who received standard care for their depression.
In contrast, collaborative care was not associated with a lower risk of a heart attack or stroke among the 67 patients with preexisting cardiovascular disease.
These findings suggest that depression treatment may need to be initiated before the onset of cardiovascular disease if cardiovascular benefits are desired.
Lifestyle changes such as stopping smoking and blood pressure and cholesterol medications are important approaches to decreasing risk of heart attacks and strokes. Our findings, if confirmed in a larger clinical trial, could provide an important new approach depression treatment to preventing cardiovascular events, said Dr. Stewart.
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Early Treatment of Depression May Ward Off Heart Attack, Stroke