About one in five patients who suffers a heart attack will become depressed in the first year of recovery. While many physicians perceive this as a normal, passing reaction to such a serious health crisis, a new study published by the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests post-heart attack depression not be taken lightly.
Researchers at Emory University studied more than 1,800 patients during the first six months following a heart attack. Of these, 20.6 percent of patients experienced depression while hospitalized and an additional six percent were depressed one month after returning home. Seven percent of patients suffered persistent depression, reporting symptoms at both points.
At a six-month follow up, researchers found the depressed patients were more likely to experience chest pain or disability, to be re-hospitalized and even to die than the non-depressed patients. Ultimately, depression was a stronger indicator of future health than gauging the heart's pumping force or analyzing past heart attack history.
ABSTRACT: Time Course of Depression and Outcome of Myocardial Infarction
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