According to the research conducted by Italian scientists, depression considerably increases the risk of most important health problems and even death in elderly patients experiencing chronic heart failure.
"This trial shows the great significance of mental health monitoring for effective management of heart failure in this population," the co-author of the research, Dr Aldo Maggioni, of the ANMCO Research Centre in Florence, said in a prepared statement.
He and his colleagues examined nearly 19 000 patients over the age of sixty experiencing heart failure. Over 2 400 of them were receiving medication treatment for depression before their diagnosis of heart failure. The patients treated for depression were usually older, female, and at greater risk of having a history of peripheral vascular disease and stroke than those without depression.
Greater likelihood of death
According to the scientists, the heart failure patients suffering depression were at much greater risk of dying or experiencing problems such as stroke, transient ischemic attack (TIA), or mild stroke), heart attack, and to require re-hospitalization.
"Successful methods of monitoring and treating depression in nursing homes ought to be introduced in order to improve the quality of life for patients suffering heart failure," Maggioni explained.
The findings of the research were expected to be demonstrated on Sunday at the American College of Cardiology’s annual meeting, in New Orleans.
