Heart Disease: Depression and Heart Disease
Taking care of yourself
after heart failure can add stress to your life and may even affect your
relationships.
This stress can build
until you feel sad, alone or set apart from your friends and family. You may
feel like you're losing control of your heart condition. Tension between you
and your doctor – from complications or changes in your treatment or progress –
may make you sad and leave you feeling frustrated.
The feeling of sadness and
frustration is very common and sometimes leads to depression, keeping you from paying
proper attention to your heart failure treatment. If you are depressed and have
no energy, chances are you will not feel up to your regular and important
self-care tasks. Feelings of anxiety or sadness may cause you to lose focus on
your healthy diet, or you may not feel like eating at all. You might lose track
of your medications or forget to follow your schedule. Often, your primary care
provider or your cardiologist can help. Many people also do well with
psychotherapy or a combination of medication and psychotherapy.
It is very important you
do not stop taking any of your medications without telling your doctor. Before
you start any new treatment or medication for depression, discuss with your
primary care provider the side effects or interactions with your current
medication and therapy.
