According to the American Heart Association, one out of every five people who are hospitalized for either a heart attack or chest pain will develop depression. These patients don’t experience post-surgical depression or passing depression. Major depression is four times more common in those who have had a heart attack or been hospitalized for chest pain than the rest of the population. Additional statistics from the American Heart Association included one out of three survivors of a stroke developing depression and half of patients who have any kind of cardiac bypass surgery.
Depression and the heart are closely related and can have a fatal relationship. Depression causes a high amount of stress. In people who experience their depression through lethargy and fatigue, there is typically a loss in diet, nutrition, and exercise. People who turn to drugs, alcohol, or food to cope with their depression also put a great amount of stress on the heart. CNN cites that patients with heart disease who are diagnosed with major depression are twice as likely to die within ten years as other patients.
The lack of motivation, poor diet and exercise, and extreme emotional stress is heavy on the heart- metaphorically and physically. Coupled with substance abuse, the heart is strained to keep up with the weight of depression.
Treatment for heart disease and heart attack should include a mental health screening and required short term work with a counselor or a therapist. Depression is considered relapsing and remitting. Proven practices like therapy, meditation, yoga, exercise, and treatment have reduced people’s depression scores considerably until they are in clinical remission. All of the practices proven to benefit people with depression are also healthy for the heart. Any kind of therapeutic technique which reduces stress reduces inflammation. Ultimately, heart problems are caused by chronic inflammation, which can be caused by chronic stress. Mental illnesses like depression are forms of mental stress and some have been linked to causing inflammation in the body. Yoga and meditation have been scientifically proven to reduce stress, reduce inflammation, and help encourage heart health.
You can find better health again. At Avalon By The Sea, our primary mental health programs help clients find health in mind, body, and spirit. Our serene cliffside estate offers the perfect environment for trusted clinical healing that provides trusted results. Call us today for a confidential assessment and more information on our certified mental health treatment programs: 888-958-7511
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