New research presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention | Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions 2018 suggests individuals with depression may have an increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AFib).
Researchers sought to determine whether depression affects cardiovascular health. The study cohort included more than 6,600 patients from various ethnic groups, with an average age of 62 and all subjects had no known heart disease at the beginning of the study. They were tracked by researchers for 13 years.
The study subjects who scored highest on a clinical screening test for depression and who were taking anti-depressants had a 30 percent higher risk for developing AFib than those with normal test scores and not taking medication.
“Our findings identify a large portion of Americans who may be at an increased risk for developing AFib and who may benefit from more targeted efforts to prevent this arrhythmia,” said study lead investigator Parveen Garg, MD, MPH, with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and colleagues. “If our findings are affirmed in future studies, especially those that formally assess for clinical depression, then we will need to see if treating depression may, in fact, lower the risk for AFib.”
The findings suggest physicians should monitor patients who are depressed or on anti-depressant medications because they could be at a higher risk for cardiovascular complications.
It is still unclear how depression affects heart rhythm function, with correlation without causation. Because mental and cardiovascular health are “closely intertwined,” the researchers believe treating depression is vital.
“Clinicians and patients should be aware that depression has been shown in several studies to be a risk factor for heart disease in general and, in this study, for AFib as well,” said Garg et al. “Treating depression is important for many reasons including cardiovascular health.”
As a senior news writer for TriMed, Subrata covers cardiology, clinical innovation and healthcare business. She has a master’s degree in communication management and 12 years of experience in journalism and public relations.