Depression and Your Heart

"A broken heart"
"Oh, this is such heartache"
"Follow your heart"
"That's a heartfelt thought"

Maybe you've used them to describe how you feel - - or perhaps you've heard such phrases from other people. Either way, the heart is more than an life sustaining organ. It is a symbol of feelings and thoughts too.

And a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows that depression is more common among patients with heart ailments.

In fact, over at A Hearty Life you can read statistics like this:

1 in 20 people in the general population has depression.

1 in 5 patients with coronary heart disease has depression.

1 in 3 patients with congestive heart failure has depression.

And as many as half of all people hospitalized for surgery or other procedures to treat blocked heart arteries develop depression.


Unfortunately, despite its prevalence, depression continues to be underdiagnosed and undertreated by primary care physicians, cardiologists, and other specialists. But knowledge is power, so pass this on to someone you know, and let's kick depression outta here.



Hat Tip: Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei at A Hearty Life