Depression, BMI, WC - predictors of heart failure: Studies

14 April 2009

Heart patients with depression are at a higher risk of developing heart failure regardless of whether they take antidepressants, according to US researchers who studied 14,000 people.

Their study is the first to look into how depression affects risk for heart failure, a chronic condition affecting 5 million Americans. The condition leads to a gradual weakening of the heart's ability to pump blood efficiently. The data suggest that depression is an important risk factor for heart failure among patients with coronary heart disease.

According to previous studies depression is about three times more common in heart attack patients and depressed patients are at higher risk of a second heart attack.

Nearly 14,000 people with no depression at the time of diagnosis but with clogged heart arteries were studied. They were tracked till they developed heart failure or died. Researchers found that of the 1,377 patients who developed depression, the heart failure rates in the group were much higher than among those who were not depressed.

While the heart failure rate was 3.6 per cent among people who were not depressed, it was 16.4 per cent in the group that developed depression. Researchers also observed that though many patients took anti-depressants it did nothing to reduce heart failure risks.

Studies have also shown that depressed patients are more likely to stop taking their heart mediations. They are also less likely to stay on prescribed diets or exercise on a regular basis.