Heart Problems + Depression = Increased Heart Failure Risks

Patients who have heart problems and become depressed have increased odds of heart failure, according to new data. Previous research has shown risks of depression increases nearly three times following an initial heart attack and also increases the risk of a second heart attack. This makes heart disease combined with depression an increased concern, especially since the new research has discovered antidepressants didn’t seem to curb increased risks of heart failure with depression and heart problems.

The recently released findings by Dr. Heidi May, an epidemiologist at the Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah, where she investigated patient’s heart problems combined with depression, shows the combination increases the odds of heart failure. Dr. May’s study evaluated nearly 14,000 patients who were recruited from the cardiac catheterization registry from the center where Dr. May is employed. One of the leading heart hospitals in the U.S. When the patients were diagnosed with heart problems they did not have signs of heart failure or depression, but they were tracked until they developed heart failure or died. Dr. May and researchers found that patients who were diagnosed with depression following a diagnosis of coronary heart disease had a two fold increase in their odds of heart failure, a condition where the heart losses its ability to pump blood efficiently. According to the study, heart failure in non-depressed patients following a diagnosis of coronary artery disease was 3.6 per 100, but for those patients with post-heart disease depression diagnosis, their odds increased to 16.4 per 100.

Heart disease, depression and stress disorders are two conditions which can significantly limit a patients daily life and activities, as well as contribute to mounting medical expenses. During Dr. May’s study, she determined that patients who had developed depression after a heart disease diagnosis odds of developing heart failure didn’t decrease with antidepressant medication. Dr. May said, "Patients need to be carefully screened for depression so that interventions that alter some of the risk associated with depression can be used and the related risk of heart failure and other cardiovascular events can be diminished."

Based on previous studies, patients suffering from depression are less likely to take their medication and follow their doctors' advice, which according to May could be a contributing factor to heart failure among patients with heart disease and depression. "I think that doctors can maybe pay closer attention to the patients that have depression and really follow them to make sure they're taking their medications, that they're following the right diet, they're exercising and do the things that they're asking them to do," according to May .

With the new research, that will be published in the April 21 issue of the Journal of American College of Cardiology we can see the increased risk of heart failure among heart disease patients who later develop depression. Dr. May and researchers hope their study can help uncover reasons that may contribute to heart failure and relieve some of the burdens that it puts on the health care system, as well as learn better ways to treat depression. With the 50 percent increase in risk’s for patients with heart disease developing heart failure, Dr. May believes additional studies would help to delve into the association between heart disease, depression and heart failure, along with other cardiovascular issues.