| It may be an age old symbol of emotion, but | | | | yes. If you're depressed or anxious, you are |
| everyone knows that the human heart is really | | | | more likely to develop a cardiovascular |
| nothing more than a pump. Or is it? New | | | | problem. How, exactly? |
| research suggests a direct link between your | | | | |
| state of mind and the state of your heart. | | | | A heart attack is cause by a blocked blood |
| Here's how to keep it ticking happily. | | | | vessel to the heart and depression is one of |
| | | | the known contributors to the development of |
| You've seen it on TV. A hospital humming with | | | | such a blockage. Inside the blood vessels we |
| urgent activity, the echo of footsteps on | | | | find the lumen, where the blood is able to |
| shiny floors, a roomful of white coated | | | | flow. Factors such as smoking, high |
| figures, and an unbroken note that pierces | | | | cholesterol and depression can cause fatty |
| the air. A flurry of gloves, a jolt of | | | | deposits to accumulate on the wall, forming a |
| electrical energy, and the note shifts into a | | | | plaque that juts into the lumen. If this |
| regular, rhythmic pattern. The human heart, | | | | plaque becomes damaged or ruptured, your |
| pulsing back into life. | | | | body's repair system shoots to the rescue, |
| | | | building a blood clot to patch up the gash. |
| But the industrious organ that shepherds your | | | | |
| blood and its vital cargo of oxygen through | | | | But the clot also seals off the artery's |
| the body is also an age old symbol of | | | | lumen, blocking the blood flow and leading to |
| emotion. Be it aching or breaking or brimming | | | | possible bypass surgery. Depression is a risk |
| with love, the heart has always overruled the | | | | factor for heart disease, but heart disease |
| brain as the supposed wellspring of the way | | | | is also a cause of depression. When your |
| we feel. | | | | heart is heavy, you may lose your natural |
| | | | inclination to get out and get active, and |
| As it turns out, this may not be such a | | | | you're more likely to drink and smoke and eat |
| fanciful notion. A growing body of clinical | | | | the wrong things. Heart failure patients |
| research seems to confirm what poets and | | | | should be screened for depression and treated |
| songwriters have long proclaimed. There's a | | | | when depression is found to be present. This |
| real and direct link between our hearts and | | | | may help to improve the patient's quality of |
| our minds. Or to put it in the language of | | | | life, and potentially improve long term |
| the white coated figure; psychosocial factors | | | | outcomes. |
| may present stronger risks for acute | | | | |
| myocardial infarction than diabetes, smoking, | | | | But it's not only all up to the doctors. We |
| hypertension and obesity. Which means that | | | | all need to learn how to make our hearts |
| stress at work or home, along with your | | | | happy. The heart is an easy organ to please. |
| perceived ability to cope with life, can | | | | It all begins with proper exercise and |
| significantly increase your risk of heart | | | | nutrition. Nobody can change their family |
| disease. The mortality rate in heart failure | | | | history, but we can all do something about |
| patients with major depression is two and a | | | | the foods we eat and the activities we do. |
| half times higher than in heart patients | | | | |
| without depression. | | | | A healthy diet consists of the four |
| | | | essentials: Fats, Fiber, Fruit and |
| Yet, depression in heart failure patients | | | | Vegetables. |
| often goes undiagnosed. This is partly | | | | |
| because of the overlap in the symptoms of the | | | | Your body doesn't need a lot of fat to stay |
| two conditions (among them: fatigue, loss of | | | | healthy, so try to keep your fat intake low. |
| energy, poor appetite, and sleep disturbance) | | | | Fiber is a must because it lowers your |
| and partly because many patients see | | | | cholesterol and fills you up so you eat less. |
| depression as a character weakness or | | | | Physical activity is equally important. It |
| personality flaw, when it's really a common | | | | boosts your circulation, reduces stress |
| clinical condition that affects as many as | | | | levels and stimulates the release of happy |
| one out of five patients with heart disease. | | | | hormones or endorphins. Even if you have a |
| | | | heart condition, exercise can help you get |
| It is here that the big question of cause and | | | | back on track. |
| effect comes to mind. Is depression a natural | | | | |
| consequence of the life changing impact of | | | | Goal number one? Do whatever it takes to keep |
| heart failure? Or is heart failure a likely | | | | your heart happy. Love your body. Live your |
| outcome of the physical effects of | | | | life. And above all, never lose heart. |
| depression? The answer, in both cases, is | | | | |