Moderate to severe depression could increase one's risk of heart failure by 40 percent.
"We found a dose response relationship between depressive symptoms and the risk of developing heart failure. That means that the more depressed you feel, the more you are at risk," Lise Tuset Gustad, first author of the study and an intensive care nurse at Levanger Hospital in Norway, said in a European Society of Cardiology news release.
"People who have lost interest in things they used to enjoy, such as reading or watching a television series, may have the early signs of depression. It's a good idea to see your doctor in these early stages for some advice on how to reduce your depression levels," she said.
The study looked at 63,000 participants from Norway. The researchers looked at "body mass index, physical activity, smoking habits and blood pressure" in all of the patients, the news release reported. Depression was also ranked by severity using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.
During the 11 year study period about 1,500 people experienced heart failure; the team found that people who experienced mild depression symptoms had a five percent increased risk of developing heart failure and those with severe depression symptoms had a 40 percent higher risk.
"Depressive symptoms increase the chance of developing heart failure and the more severe the symptoms are, the greater the risk. Depressed people have less healthy lifestyles, so our analysis adjusted for factors such as obesity and smoking that could cause both depression and heart failure. This means we can be confident that these factors did not cause the association," Gustad said.
The researchers hope this study will encourage people to have their depression treated in order to prevent cardiovascular health complications.
"Depression triggers stress hormones. If you're stressed you feel your pulse going up and your breath speeding up, which is the result of hormones being released. Those stress hormones also induce inflammation and atherosclerosis, which may accelerate heart diseases. Another mechanism could also be because depressed people find it more difficult to follow advice about how to take medications and improve their lifestyle," Gustad said.
"Depression is disabling. It blocks people's ability to take their medications as prescribed, stop smoking, improve their diet or exercise more. Hospitals in Norway [specialize] in either somatic or psychiatric illness and there is little communication between them. Patients at all hospitals should be screened for depression to help them recover from existing illnesses, avoid developing new ones and have a more enjoyable life," she said.
