Following a heart attack, almost one out of two patients get depressed. To he more precise, of the 45 % of patient,S found to be depressed, 18 % of which are severely depressed and 27 % report mild to mcxierate depression. Usually the first two months following a heart attack or heart surgery are crucial to watch for the occurrence of the depression. According to a study by Montreal Heart Institute, patients report the highest level of depression between six to sixty days after the heart attack.
We all know that high cholesterol level, smoking, high
blood pressure, and inactivity or lack of physical
exercise are bad for heart patients. Now we know that
depression al,So is a serious risk that needs to be
monitored. Patients who are severely depressed in the
irst sixty days have an increased risk of death or of
having another heart attack in the following year. Heart
attack patients with severe stress, anxiety, and
depression are more likely to die of heart- related
problems during the following five years when compar~ to
non-anxious, non-
depressed patients.
According to the Montreal Heart Institute study,
survivors of heart attack who became depressed had 3 to 4
times greater risk of dying within 6 months when compared
to those who did not experience depression following a
heart attack. The depressed and the non depressed heart
attack survivors were similar to each other with regard
to their history of past heart attacks and medication.
The only difference between the two groups was the
depression.
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Copyright 1996,
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Dr. Vijai Sharma
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