Actor Jack Nicholson realistically acted the post-heart attack depression that 50 percent of survivors experience following a heart attack. Here his character experiences an unusual (for him) emotional moment in Nancy Meyer's 2003 comedy "Something's Gotta Give" with Diane Keaton. Nicholson's character unexpectedly falls in love with a woman his own age following a heart attack.
Cardiologists routinely warn heart attack survivors of the risk of depression after a heart attack -- little or no stigma is attached to brain-generated illness in this instance. Temporary feelings of sadness following a heart attack are normal and gradually go away after a few weeks.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, if the depression is more severe and persists for more than two weeks, antidepressant medication is highly recommended both for recovery and to lower odds of a second attack. But a new question is emerging: Was there depression before the heart attack? Could changes in the brain contribute to problems of the heart?
A recent study published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research reported that people who underwent brain scans three months after a heart attack showed that the depressed patients had changes and structural abnormalities in the brain's deep white matter anterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
"This study provides the first evidence that persistent depressive symptoms after [a heart attack] are associated with vascular brain changes. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether depressive symptoms precede these changes or vice versa," the researchers concluded.Vicki Myers, a researcher at Tel Aviv University, led a separate study published in the January issue of journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. Depressed patients spend 14 percent more time in the hospital than their happier counterparts. Along with her colleagues, Myers examined the association between depressive symptoms in heart attack patients and hospital admissions more than a decade after the initial attack. And so it goes.
See you tomorrow.
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Disclosure: Suzanne O'Malley is a Senior Research Associate for the non-profit NIH-funded Yale Heart Study. She teaches screenwriting and film studies at the Yale Writers' Conference & Associate/Director of Yale Summer Film Institute.
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Thanks for you comment and condolences on your experience with cardiologists.
I confess I am a truly fortunate person, in general. Specifically, I have never been to a single physician who was not a bigger nag than you when it comes to watching out for depression whenever ANY kind of heart event occurs.
So I am founding a Huffington Post/Yale Heart Study Cardiac Hall of Fame for these geniuses here and now. Feel free to add to the list. They are (in alphabetical order):
Alex M. Aponte, M.D.
Westhampton Primary Care
80 Old Riverhead Road, North Mall
Westhampton Beach NY 11978
(631) 288-7746
Dr. Patrick Cook, M.D.
Cardiology
1701 Sunset Blvd.
Houston, TX 77005
Catharine Buttinger Fedeli, MD, PhD
275 Central Parks West
New York, NY 10024
Lawrence A. Inra, M.D
407 E 70th St
New York, NY
John McDermott, M.D. (retired)
Syracuse, N.Y.
Paul Rodney McHugh, M.D.
Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the author, co-author, or editor of seven books within his field.
Thanks again for nagging.
SO
"Cardiologists routinely warn heart attack survivors of the risk of depression after a heart attack..."
Not sure what planet these cardiologists you mention are practicing on, but here on Planet Earth, this is, sadly, NOT the case. When I attended the 'WomenHeart Science & Leadership Symposium for Women With Heart Disease' at Mayo Clinic, we learned that, although over half of heart attack survivors experience symptoms of severe depression post-MI, fewer than 10% are appropriately diagnosed. As cardiologist Dr. Sharonne Hayes of the Mayo Women's Heart Clinic explained:
“Cardiologists may not be comfortable with ‘touchy-feely’ stuff. They want to treat lipids and chest pain. And most are not trained to cope with mental health issues.”
Personally, I was never "warned" by any cardiologist, GP, nurse or cardiac rehab staff about depression following my own heart attack - which is why I felt utterly blindsided by my own symptoms when they hit, and why I continue to write frequently about this issue.
Thanks again for this reminder.