For years, doctors thought that the connection between mental health and heart health was strictly behavioral. Now, research shows that there could be physiological connections as well.
Depression and Your Heart Health
Experienced by one in 10 American adults, depression is a mood disorder characterized by persistent sadness or loss of interest in activities, which may cause significant impairment in daily life. Depression affects how you feel, think and behave, and may cause physical symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, insomnia, changes in weight, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, inflammation and more.
Studies show depression can also increase the risk of heart disease, making your mental health and your heart health a two-way street. Having a similar effect on your body to that of high cholesterol, smoking and hypertension, depression has been proven to be a significant independent risk factor for heart disease and can even affect a person’s recovery time.
The Head-Heart Connection
The heart is connected to not only your body but also your mind. Factors such as faulty mood regulation by the brain, genetic vulnerability, stressful life events, medications and medical problems are just some of the forces that interact to cause depression, but chemical imbalances can also attribute to it.
Billions of chemicals make up the system responsible for regulating our mood and perceptions. Because the chemicals and hormones that our bodies produce work in a number of different ways, having deficiencies in one or more can cause an imbalance in our biochemistry that can affect us physically, mentally and emotionally.
Decreased levels of the neurotransmitters’ serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine contribute to depression, but they also play an important part in the vigor of other bodily functions. Low levels of norepinephrine can cause hypertension, hypoglycemia and restless leg syndrome. A dopamine deficiency can cause muscle cramps, spasms or tremors and troubled sleeping. Decreased levels of serotonin can cause difficulty sleeping and inhibit blood from clotting in response to injury.
Depression should be considered a risk factor for heart events, alongside high blood pressure, obesity and physical inactivity. With proper treatment for depression, you are more likely to improve heart health and boost your quality of life. It’s important to discuss all aspects of your health, including mental health, with your doctor.
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