Depression and Heart Disease

I found the following statement and recommendations only reconfirm what I have seen in my own life and the lives of many others.

Heart patients should be screened, treated for depression
Heart patients should be screened for depression — a common condition that can profoundly affect both prognosis and quality of life — according to the American Heart Association’s first scientific statement on depression and coronary heart disease.The recommendations, which are endorsed by the American Psychiatric Association, include:early and repeated screening for depression in heart patients; the use of two questions to screen patients – if depression is suspected the remaining questions are asked (9 questions total);
coordinated follow-up for both heart disease and depressive symptoms in patients who have both. “The statement was prompted by the growing body of evidence that shows a link between depression in cardiac patients and a poorer long-term outlook,” said Erika Froelicher, R.N., M.A., M.P.H., Ph.D., a professor at the University of California San Francisco, School of Nursing and Medicine and co-chair of the writing group.Dale Briggs, who experienced depression after his heart valve surgery, said the statement is welcome news. “I think it’s long overdue. It is unfortunate that some patients aren’t warned of the possibility of some depression after surgery,” he said. Experts say depressed cardiac patients have at least twice the risk of second events in the one to two years after a heart attack. Furthermore, studies have shown that more severe depression is associated with earlier and more severe second cardiac events, Froelicher said.Co-authors include J. Thomas Bigger, Jr., M.D.; James A. Blumenthal, Ph.D., ABPP.; Nancy Frasure-Smith, Ph.D.; Peter G. Kaufmann, Ph.D.; Francois Lesperance, M.D.; Daniel B. Mark, M.D., M.P.H.; David S. Sheps, M.D., M.P.H.; and C. Barr Taylor, M.D. Individual author disclosures are included on the manuscript.

The Bumps Along the Way

One thing that I have come to realize about heart disease is that it just doesn't go away. For the rest of my life I will have to manage this disease, and for the rest of my life there will be bumps along the way. Last week I encountered a bump. My pulse rate has gone up for some reason. I am scheduled for a treadmill next Monday to find out what is going on. To be honest I am a bit mad right now, but not depressed. I am mad because I just don't like the fact that I have heart disease, and this bump probably won't be the last one. I have learned not to be depressed though because I have learned to live with heart disease. Hey, we all have to live with something.