{"id":2119,"date":"2011-04-07T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-04-07T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.willclower.com\/blog\/2011\/04\/this-week-its-all-about-your-heart-if-depression-doesnt-get-you-meds-for-depression-will.html"},"modified":"2016-09-21T09:10:56","modified_gmt":"2016-09-21T13:10:56","slug":"this-week-its-all-about-your-heart-if-depression-doesnt-get-you-meds-for-depression-will","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=2119","title":{"rendered":"This week … it’s all about your heart. If depression doesn’t get you, meds for depression will."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Middle-age men who use antidepressants are more likely to have a narrowing of blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes, than those who do not use the medications, according to a study presented on Saturday.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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A study of twins found evidence of atherosclerosis, as measured by the interior thickness of the carotid artery, regardless of the type of antidepressant taken.<\/div>\n

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Antidepressant use was found to cause a 37 micron increase in carotid artery thickness, or roughly 5 percent, according to the study of more than 500 male twins with a mean age of 55 which was presented at the American Cardiology scientific meeting in New Orleans.<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In 59 sets of twins in which one brother was taking an antidepressant and the other was not, the brother taking the medication had on average a 41 micron thicker inner lining of the artery, the research found.<\/div>\n

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As each year of life has been associated with a 10 micron increase in carotid artery thickening, the brother taking the antidepressant had arteries that were essentially four years older than those of his non-medicated twin.<\/div>\n

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Previous studies have linked depression to a heightened risk of heart disease, but the condition was not deemed a significant predictor of artery thickening in the study.<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“Because we didn’t see an association between depression itself and a thickening of the carotid artery, it strengthens the argument that it is more likely the antidepressants than the actual depression that could be behind the association,” said Dr. Amit Shah, cardiology fellow at Emory University in Atlanta, who presented the data.<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“This study reminds us that medicines often have side effects we can’t feel, and we should always take that into account. These drugs provide a lot of benefit, but should be considered on a case-by-case basis,” Shah said.<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Shah hypothesized that the raising of levels of certain brain chemicals, such as serotonin and norepinephrine, through antidepressant use may cause blood vessels to constrict, leading to decreases in blood flow to organs and higher blood pressure — a risk factor for atherosclerosis.<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/span>“Because this was a twin study, we had a very well controlled analysis comparing brothers who are anywhere from 50 to 100 percent genetically similar and were raised in the same household,” Shah said.<\/span>
<\/span>Antidepressants linked to heart risk: twins study | Reuters<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Will<\/a>\"Will<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Middle-age men who use antidepressants are more likely to have a narrowing of blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes, than those who do not use the … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[494],"tags":[340,325],"class_list":["post-2119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-depression","tag-heart-health"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7Qv5g-yb","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2557,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=2557","url_meta":{"origin":2119,"position":0},"title":"The “Heart” Affects The Heart","author":"Will Clower","date":"June 30, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Two new studies show that problems with the mind can play a significant role in problems of the heart.Anxiety and depression can increase the incidence of angina, the chest pain that sends many people to the doctor, said Dr. Mark Sullivan, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8691,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=8691","url_meta":{"origin":2119,"position":1},"title":"The Power of Hope","author":"Will Clower","date":"October 20, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"We are coming to the end of this very difficult year, it\u2019s important to look forward to the new year coming up, with hope for improved conditions. 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