Postpartum depression, diet not thought to be linked

post-delivery. Risk factors include a history of depression, major stressful events during pregnancy and a lack of financial or social support.

Postpartum depression differs from “postpartum blues,” which involves mild symptoms of depression such as sleeping ills (unrelated to the baby), poor energy, concentration difficulties and a “down” feeling. The symptoms tend to improve within a few days and disappear within two weeks.

Women with postpartum depression might experience symptoms for two weeks — which might include feelings of guilt, loss of pleasure and thoughts of self-harm.

Although I wish PPD could be prevented with a simple diet change, I don’t believe that to be true.

Dear Dr. Roach: I have a patent foramen ovale (hole in the heart). I’ve heard that people with a hole in the heart are more prone to strokes. If true, how can I prevent it?

A: There are several types of defects in the heart muscle called “holes in the heart”; the most common is the patent foramen ovale (Latin for “open oval-shaped window”). It occurs when the normal opening between the left and right atrium — necessary in a developing fetus because the oxygen to a fetus comes from the mother through the placenta — fails to close after birth.

Up to 30 percent of the population has a patent foramen ovale., with most never developing problems.

People with a PFO do face a higher risk for stroke. It is thought that a blood clot — which would otherwise go into the lung (and usually cause little trouble) — can go through the patent foramen ovale and into the brain, causing a stroke. Still, this is uncommon, and the greater risk of a stroke in people who haven’t had one is small.