Facts on the heart, stress and memory. Details information on the
link between depression, the heart and mind, genetics and moods, stress
and disease and memory loss.
By
Hara Estroff Marano, published on December 01, 2002
Did You Know?
Facts from PT's Blues Buster Newsletter
Hearts & Minds
• Depression in the early aftermath of bypass surgery,
especially among men, heralds chest pain and other cardiac problems five
years down the road. One third of bypass patients aredepressed shortly
after surgery.
Seen Gene
• There's new evidence that genetic differences account for
women having twice the risk of depression as men. Pittsburgh researchers
identified a gene that influences susceptibility of women, but not men,
to mood ills.
Felled by Stress
• Chronic psychological stress not only leads to depression,
it impairs the ability of the immune system to heed ordinary signals. It
paves the way for serious cardiac infections and allergic illnesses by
prolonging inflammatory processes in the body.
Remember This!!
• Even mild degrees of memory loss make people depressed.
Although the symptoms are due to changes in the brain, they can respond
well to existing treatments.