Heart Care Info - Heart Disease Prevention & Treatment

Depression After Heart Attack: Why Should I Be Concerned About Depression After a Heart Attack?

RB Williams - Circulation, 2011 - Am Heart Assoc Depression is 3 times more common in patients after a heart attack than in the general population, with 15% to 20% of heart attack victims qualifying for a diagnosis of major depressive disorder, and a far greater proportion experiencing increased levels of depressive ...

Depression is 3 times more common in patients after a heart attack than in the general population, with 15% to 20% of heart attack victims qualifying for a diagnosis of major depressive disorder, and a far greater proportion experiencing increased levels of depressive symptoms. This comes as no surprise, given that major life stressors are known to contribute to the development of depression, and a heart attack certainly qualifies as such a stressor. Depression after a heart attack is bad not only because of the accompanying emotional distress and suffering; it also increases one’s risk of having another heart attack or dying over the ensuing months and years. Listed in Table 1 are several characteristics that have been found in depressed persons that could account for a poorer prognosis after a heart attack.