Symptoms of mild to minimal depression were associated with early indicators of heart disease in a research letter published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, but the study found regular exercise seems to reduce the adverse cardiovascular consequences of depression.
Depression has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease and other physical ailments, and depression is commonly associated with worse outcomes for patients with heart disease and other conditions. In addition, as many as 20 percent of people hospitalized with a heart attack report symptoms of depression, while patients with heart disease have three times the risk of developing depression compared to the general population.
