Researchers examined women and men with histories of heart disease and found correlations with the likelihood of once having moderate of severe depression. The positive correlation was seen specifically in women 55 and younger.
Depressed young and middle-aged women exhibited risk of a heart attack that was more than double the risk in men and older women.
Dr. Amit Shah of Emory University School of Medicine published these findings in the Journal of the American Heart Association on June 19.
The study involved 3,237 participants, 34% female, undergoing an X-ray diagnosis of heart disease. The participants were followed for three years and recorded for symptoms of depression, hearth attacks and deaths. Results showed that women are at a significantly higher risk than their counterparts of being diagnosed with, or dying from, heart disease if they are depressed.
"Women in this age group are also more likely to have depression, so this may be one of the 'hidden' risk factors that can help explain why women die at a disproportionately higher rate than men after a heart attack," says Shah.
The risks seem to go both ways and are not well understood. Yet the results should provide incentive for those with depression, and those that know someone with depression to seek help right away.
"All people, and especially younger women, need to take depression very seriously," says Shah. "Depression itself is a reason to take action, but knowing that it is associated with an increased risk of heart disease and death should motivate people to seek help."
Shah hopes the study also motivates healthcare providers to probe their patients, especially young women, about depression and be sensitive to symptoms of vulnerability to depression. Spreading awareness about the potential link to heart disease may encourage young women to seek help before it is too late.
Viola Vaccarino, professor of medicine at Emory School of Medicine, explains why the link between depression and heart disease and the reason it is so strong in women remains unknown. A group of young and middle-aged women has not been studied much, she says.
The American Heart Association released a scientific statement in February warning that depression may be a risk factor in acute coronary syndrome, or heart disease. It cites multiple studies and concludes that depression should be considered an official risk factor. Shah's findings may be just the thing needed to push depressive symptoms to the center stage in the discussion of heart disease, especially in women.
