Call to add depression as risk factor for heart disease

An extensive review of scientific literature indicates that depression should be added to the list of risk factors associated with heart disease risk.

The other factors associated with heart disease are obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and smoking.

A 12-person panel of experts that included Robert M. Carney, PhD, and Kenneth E. Freedland, PhD, both professors of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, made the recommendation to the American Heart Association (AHA).

The group sifted through hundreds of studies looking at the link between depression and heart problems. Most of the studies found that depression made people more likely to have a heart attack or die from heart disease.

Part of the problem is that the available treatments don't work for everyone. Even the best therapies for depression lead to remission in only about one of every two depressed patients.

The findings have been published online in the journal Circulation.