Depression common after a heart attack
DEAR DOCTOR: It has been six weeks since my husband had a heart attack, and I’m afraid he’s depressed. His doctors say he’s doing really well, but he’s getting more quiet and withdrawn. How can we help him?
DEAR READER: Depression following a heart attack is not uncommon. Up to onethird of people who have had a heart attack report symptoms of depression. It’s not just the body that suffers the effects of a heart attack, there can be a mental and emotional toll as well.
A person who goe s through a life- changing medical event — and a heart attack certainly qualifies — often faces an emotional struggle once the initial danger is past. He or she can wind up feeling alone, frightened and fundamentally different from everyone around them.
The first challenge is to recognize that something is wrong.
In addition to becoming quiet and withdrawn, symptoms of depression include anxiety, persistent feelings of sadness, problems with concentration and a lack of interest in the people and activities that were once important. There may be changes in appetite or in eating habits, as well as changes in sleep patterns, whether insomnia or sleeping too much.
One danger posed by depression is that heart patients may not fully engage in their recovery. They may not be careful to always take their medications, and may either put off or refuse to make the lifestyle changes recommended by their doctors. Studies have shown that individuals who are depressed may be twice as likely to have another heart attack.
The most effective treatments for postheart attack depression are anti- depressants and seeing a therapist, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. If your husband isn’t interested in the one- on- one environment of a therapist’s office, then a support group is a good alternative. The chance to meet other heart patients and to hear their stories and to share his own can go a long way toward piercing the wall of isolation.