Heart Disease and Depression

An international study is saying that there may be a genetic link between heart disease and depression, and why patients with heart disease are likely to develop depression symptoms. Alongside the genetic issues found, heart disease also has the ability to adversely impact quality of life and lifestyle, which can induce depressive qualities. The Times of India said of the study, "In the study involving 977 heart patients, the researchers looked at 59 different candidate genes because of their relevance to a biological pathway of interest or their prior association with depression in medical literature. They discovered that genetic variations involving endothelial dysfunction - a hallmark for vascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis - and platelet aggregation appear to contribute to depressive symptoms." In the past studies have shown 15 to 20 percent of heart disease patients suffer from depression, also most of them had just recently experienced a negative and serious cardiac issue.