Patients with heart disease are at greater risk of dying if they are depressed. And both depression and heart disease are characterized, among other things, by low levels of omega-3 fatty acids.
So scientists wondered whether heart patients with depression might benefit from a dose of omega-3s in their antidepressant medicine. In a clinical trial, two groups of heart patients taking the antidepressant sertraline (Zoloft) were randomly assigned to receive a supplement of either omega-3s or a corn oil placebo.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
Showing posts with label heart disease. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heart disease. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Monday, October 20, 2008
Certain Antipsychotic Medications May Increase Risk for Heart Disease
Certain atypical antipsychotic medications may raise the risk for heart disease in people with schizophrenia, according to an analysis of data from the Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE) study published in the October 2008 issue of Schizophrenia Research.
Heart disease is prevalent among people with schizophrenia. Patients with schizophrenia also have higher rates of diabetes and high blood pressure, and lower levels of high-density lipoprotein or "good" cholesterol. Although factors such as smoking and lack of access to quality medical care may be 2 reasons for higher heart disease rates, atypical antipsychotics are known to be associated with cardiovascular side effects as well.
READ MORE @ DOCTOR'S GUIDE
Heart disease is prevalent among people with schizophrenia. Patients with schizophrenia also have higher rates of diabetes and high blood pressure, and lower levels of high-density lipoprotein or "good" cholesterol. Although factors such as smoking and lack of access to quality medical care may be 2 reasons for higher heart disease rates, atypical antipsychotics are known to be associated with cardiovascular side effects as well.
READ MORE @ DOCTOR'S GUIDE
Monday, July 21, 2008
Treating Depression Reduces Risk Of Heart Disease
Patients suffering from major depression are at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, but treating these patients with medication can greatly reduce the risk, according to new findings by researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. The results of their study are published in the July 16 issue of the journal PLoS ONE.
The researchers specifically studied the stress-hemoconcentration, which is a blood chemistry work-up that includes a blood cell count, hematocrit values, hemoglobin, total serum protein, and albumin. The stress-hemoconcentration increases during psychological stress, such as that caused by depression, and the increase is a risk factor for heart disease.
READ MORE @ MEDICAL NEWS TODAY
The researchers specifically studied the stress-hemoconcentration, which is a blood chemistry work-up that includes a blood cell count, hematocrit values, hemoglobin, total serum protein, and albumin. The stress-hemoconcentration increases during psychological stress, such as that caused by depression, and the increase is a risk factor for heart disease.
READ MORE @ MEDICAL NEWS TODAY
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Depression After a Heart Attack Dangerous for Years
The increased risk of death associated with depression after a heart attack persists for at least five years, a study finds.
"We've known for a number of years that depression increases the risk of mortality as well as morbidity [illness] after a heart attack for at least three to six months," said study author Robert M. Carney, a professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "We assumed that we would find a decline in risk, but that was not what we found. The risk remained worse after five years."
Carney and his colleagues followed more than 750 people after their heart attacks, according to their report in the current online issue of theJournal of Affective Disorders. Using diagnostic interviews rather than the self-reporting common in most such studies, the researchers determined that 163 had major depression, and 195 had minor depression. Over the five-year study, the death rate was 87 percent higher for those with major depression and 76 percent higher for those with any form of depression.
READ MORE @ WASHINGTON POST
"We've known for a number of years that depression increases the risk of mortality as well as morbidity [illness] after a heart attack for at least three to six months," said study author Robert M. Carney, a professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "We assumed that we would find a decline in risk, but that was not what we found. The risk remained worse after five years."
Carney and his colleagues followed more than 750 people after their heart attacks, according to their report in the current online issue of theJournal of Affective Disorders. Using diagnostic interviews rather than the self-reporting common in most such studies, the researchers determined that 163 had major depression, and 195 had minor depression. Over the five-year study, the death rate was 87 percent higher for those with major depression and 76 percent higher for those with any form of depression.
READ MORE @ WASHINGTON POST
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Psychiatric Conditions Increase the Risk of Heart Disease
Although mortality rate among people suffering from cardiovascular diseases has declined in the United States over the past years, patients suffering from acute mental illness remain deprived of the benefits experienced by healthy individuals. These views were expressed in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) by a psychiatrist --John W. Newcomer at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Newcomer, who is the professor of psychiatry and psychology and of medicine and medical director of the Center for Clinical Studies at Washington University, said that people suffering from mental ailments including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and various forms of depression live 25 -30 years shorter than those with no such ailments. Though suicide remains one of the major causes of death among these individuals, but most of them die prematurely on account of cardiovascular diseases.
READ MORE @ MEDHEADLINES
Newcomer, who is the professor of psychiatry and psychology and of medicine and medical director of the Center for Clinical Studies at Washington University, said that people suffering from mental ailments including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and various forms of depression live 25 -30 years shorter than those with no such ailments. Though suicide remains one of the major causes of death among these individuals, but most of them die prematurely on account of cardiovascular diseases.
READ MORE @ MEDHEADLINES
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