Heart attack survivors have a hard enough time dealing with the
aftermath of their illness, from switching to a healthier lifestyle to
incorporating medication into their daily routine. Now, they have another
obstacle to overcome: women and men who show mild to moderate depression
while hospitalized for a heart attack are more likely to die in the
following year.
Of a group of almost 300 women and just over 800 men undergoing
treatment for a heart attack, nearly half of the women and a third of the
men showed symptoms of mild depression, report Nancy Frasure-Smith,
Ph.D., and colleagues at the Montreal Heart Institute in Quebec. Despite
this gender disparity, 8% of the downhearted women and 7% of the men
passed away 12 months after being hospitalized. Only 2% of nondepressed
patients died so soon, reports Frasure-Smith, a psychologist.
Of course, the trauma of having a heart attack renders patients
generally vulnerable to negative thoughts. Male subjects, however, were
most likely to have low spirits if they lived alone and were unmarried,
says Frasure-Smith, while single women who lived by themselves were least
likely to feel low. This finding also holds true for men and women who
are healthy and have no heart problems. The researchers suggest that men
feel especially close to their spouses, while women benefit most from a
varied network of social relationships. Still, they warn, there is little
support for the idea that women who live alone after a heart attack are
more likely to survive it.
Tags:
aftermath,
daily routine,
death,
depression,
having a heart attack,
heart,
heart problems,
low spirits,
male subjects,
moderate depression,
obstacle,
physical health,
relationships,
social relationships,
women and men
