Stress Increases Heart Attack Risks in Depressed People

Concordia University investigators have discovered that mood disorders such as depression can easily be linked to an increased risk of suffering from heart diseases. New data indicate that people who are depressed are 50 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack, when compared to non-depressed individuals.

While this has been known to some extent, researchers did not have too much to go on in terms of determining the causal relationships between the two conditions. The new investigation managed to establish just that, PsychCentral reports.

What the work determined was that depression mostly affects people who also exhibit a dysfunctional biological stress system. This also contributes to a far slower recovery from the strains of physical exercise, among other effects.

The new study is extremely important in the long run, because cardiac diseases are the leading cause of death in the United States. Based on the new discoveries, it may become possible to tailor new therapies against both conditions.