Long-term depression can increase stroke risk
Long-term depression significantly increases the risk for stroke, even after a patient’s depression symptoms have subsided, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Compared to people who did not experience depressive symptoms, those showing signs of depression were 66 percent more likely to have a stroke, according to the study. People who reported signs of depression in two consecutive check-ins were twice as likely as those without symptoms to have a stroke.
Responses were analyzed from more than 16,000 adults 50 years old and older about their depression symptoms, stroke history and stroke risk factors. Feedback from patients was taken every two years over the course of 12 years.
The reports found that nearly 1,200 of those adults had a stroke during that period.
“Depression affects a patient’s whole body,” says Dr. Shastri Swaminathan, psychiatrist at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago. “It can cause high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation and other cardiovascular issues, which are linked to stroke risk. In addition, depression can trigger overeating and reduce a person’s motivation to exercise, both of which can increase your risk for stroke and other health problems.”
However, the study also showed that short-term depression seemed to have less of an impact on stroke risk.
“Looking at how changes in depressive symptoms over time may be associated with stroke allows us to see if the risk of stroke increases after elevated depressive symptoms start or if risk goes away when depressive symptoms do,” Paola Gilsanz, Sc.D., the study’s lead author, said in a news release. “We were surprised that changes in depressive symptoms seem to take more than two years to protect against or elevate stroke risk.”
Depression is often very treatable, and if you’re experiencing symptoms, you should see your doctor.
“Remember that depression is a health condition, just like high blood pressure or diabetes, and treatment can help,” says Dr. Swaminathan. “Most people experience symptom relief with medication, talk therapy or a combination of the two.”
Related Posts
Comments
2 Comments
About the Author
health enews staff is a group of experienced writers from our Advocate Health Care and Aurora Health Care sites, which also includes freelance or intern writers.
For anyone suffering from depression, I recommend the http://destroydepression.com/info.php system. Written by James Gordon, a former depression & PTSD sufferer, it teaches 7 natural steps which help to eliminate depression from your life.
Thanks, Andrea, for this article. Most especially, I would like to thank and applaud you for the quote provided by Dr. Swaminathan that identifies and emphasizes depression as a disease… “depression is a health condition, just like high blood pressure or diabetes, and treatment can help”. Too often, people regard depression as a “behavioral problem”, when in fact, it is often a matter of brain chemistry and genetics.
In a similar manner to assessing one’s predisposition to cancer, coronary disease, or diabetes, consider the possibility of a genetic predisposition to major depression or persistent depressive and/or bipolar disorder, and take necessary steps toward preventative medicine. As a community, we must become more comfortable in the understanding that depression is a health condition. Left untreated, various forms of depression could, indeed lead to complications such as stroke, and frankly, could lead to death by suicide.