Depression and the increased risk of heart disease in women
July 20, 2008 by Kendra James, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
13 out of the top 20 feeds on my cardiac news reader were all pointing at one topic. And I mean all of them…
Depression, women and heart disease. I have written about this so many times in the past. Our emotional and physical self all works as one. Never be too proud to admit when it is time to seek help for depression.
Symptoms of depression include:
Loss of interest in normal daily activities
Feeling sad or down
Feeling hopeless
Crying spells for no apparent reason
Problems sleeping
Trouble focusing or concentrating
Difficulty making decisions
Unintentional weight gain or loss
Irritability
Restlessness
Being easily annoyed
Feeling fatigued or weak
Feeling worthless
Loss of interest in …read more
Depression increases risk of complications post heart attack
July 6, 2008 by Kendra James, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Here we go again.. or so it seems. Your mental health is so important in how you deal and heal from illness. Depressed patients are more at risk for developing complications following a heart attack. It is very important that we take check and let ourselves feel and be scared and all that comes with such a life altering episode.
“There is good evidence that if a person has depression after a heart attack, they are more likely to die from cardiac causes in the following months and years,” said lead author Jeff Huffman, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard …read more
Theme Day all about mental illness- Heart disease and depression/anxiety: it is directly related
May 13, 2008 by Kendra James, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Here at the health and wellness channel it is theme day- and it is all about mental health and Alicia has the roundup at Mental Health Notes. With that being said, I have a few things to offer you…
Increased risk of heart disease due to depression is right on the mark and is a vicious cycle indeed. Depression medications lead to weight gain, food cravings and feelings of lethargy. Feelings of lethargy lead to a sedentary and less than “healthy” lifestyle. And a round and around we go!
How do we break the cycle? The more depressed one is the higher …read more
Failure to recognize symptoms and treat heart attacks among women
May 9, 2008 by Kendra James, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
I really thought we were past this but apparently there is still a gender gap amongst women and men when it comes to symptoms and treatments of heart attacks. Even though the patient was definitely and positively having a heart attack it seems that the very same women showed very little symptoms and eluded doctors…
One of the most striking findings was that women were twice as likely as men to have “normal” or “mild” results on an exam of their heart’s blood vessels, with no single blockage taking up more than 50 percent of any one blood vessel. This was …read more




