Reuters (6/12, Rapaport) reports, “Heart attack survivors with chronic mood disorders may be more likely to die prematurely than their counterparts who don’t suffer these problems,” researchers concluded after evaluating nearly “58,000 patients for emotional distress two months after a heart attack, and again at 12 months after the event,” then following “a majority of patients for at least four years.” The study revealed that “compared to those who didn’t report any emotional distress at all, people who felt depressed or anxious at both assessments were 46% more likely to die of cardiovascular causes during the follow-up period and 54% more likely to die from other causes.” The findings were published online June 3 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. The author of an accompanying editorial observed, “We do not know for certain whether treating depression or anxiety improves survival, but there is some evidence that it probably does.”
Related Links:
— “Chronic depression after heart attack tied to increased risk of death, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, June 12, 2019