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HowToPreventHeartDisease.com |
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Will Depression Lead to Heart Disease? A 2004 National Mental Health Survey indicated that about 5.6 percent of Singaporeans were affected by depression. Depression, as defined by Merriam-Webster online dictionary, is “a psychoneurotic or psychotic disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty in thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal tendencies.” Imagine a person, who is always complaining about frequent neck and back aches, nausea and heart palpitations, despite regular health checks with his family doctor do not show any irregularities. He keeps complaining about aches and knots in his stomach, and would gag and vomit several times before he goes to work. But everything is fine once he returns from work by evening. His family members think that these were all in his head. However, these symptoms were not just his imagination. He is not as fit as he looks and in fact, he suffers from depression. According to psychiatrists, depression is more than just a disorder of the mind; it could also show physical symptoms such as those mentioned. It is estimated that up to three-quarters of patients with depression might complain of bodily discomfort.
Biologically, there is a link between a person’s mood and pain as they share similar neurotransmitters, which are chemical messengers that travel between nerves. This could also explain why patients who are already suffering from chronic pain might eventually develop depression. Besides having psychological signs, patients might experience symptoms like frequent dizziness and tiredness, discomfort in the chest and shortness of breath, persistent and frequent aches and pains in the neck and back as well as abdominal pains. The chemical and hormonal changes in the body caused by extreme mental stress would negatively affect the body. Past studies had found evidence that depression might make people more vulnerable to heart trouble. A person who is highly stressed over a considerable long period of time might develop high blood pressure (hypertension) or irregular heart rhythm. Depression might also raise the risk of such other medical aliments as osteoporosis and heart attack. Researchers from Washington University and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in St. Louis found that depression almost doubled the risk of developing heart disease over 12 years in a long-term study of twins. The finding was presented on March 4, 2009 at the American Psychosomatic Society meeting in Chicago. There is no doubt that depression contributes to the risk of heart disease as much as diabetes, high cholesterol or obesity does, but there is still no evidence that treating depression would make adults less likely to have heart attack. Negative lifestyle can play a role in depression. People with depression could not take good care of themselves. It is very likely that these people would not adhere to good lifestyle habits. As such, some pre-existing medical disorders like heart disease and diabetes could get worsen. Depression is treatable. In fact, most of the bodily symptoms would usually disappear after the condition is treated and managed with family support. Unfortunately, many of the sufferers of depression are not aware of their own problem. There is about half of the victims do not know that they have depression. It is important that family members and caregivers should not regard the symptoms as normal wear and tear of ageing.
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