Depression, severe mental illness and loneliness not heart friendly

Posted Star Web Media Monday, August 16, 2010


Chandni
New Delhi. Depression, severe mental illness and loneliness are linked to heart disease and dementia said Dr K K Aggarwal, President Heart Care Foundation of India, BSNL Dil ka Darbar & MTNL Perfect Health Mela. Quoting Dr. Jesse Stewart, formerly of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Dr Aggarwal said that there is correlation between depression and hardening of the arteries.

The arteries of those who are most depressed were narrowed twice as much as those who were least depressed, in the study. Hardening of the arteries is a precursor to a heart attack or stroke. Depression may also upset the body’s regulation of glands that release chemicals governing energy level and growth, and alter the functioning of cells responsible for blood clotting.

Hardening of the arteries leads to an overreaction of the immune system and the resulting inflammation is known to release chemicals that can cause the diseases. Quoting a British study, Dr Aggarwal said that severely mentally ill people are more than three times as likely to die from coronary heart disease and stroke than people not suffering from mental illness. Mental illness more than doubled the risk of dying from heart disease for people up to age 75.The risk of dying from heart disease was even higher among those taking antipsychotic medications.

A persistent feeling of loneliness among the elderly doubles the risk of developing Alzheimer's-like symptoms compared to those who felt connected to others.

0 Comments

Post a Comment


Contact Us

Email : newsdesk.starnewsagency@gmail.com

Firdaus Khan

Star News Agency

e-newspapers

Blog

Popular Posts

.

Followers

Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *

Translate

Add This

Share |