Depression Can Be Cause Of Heart Disease

In a study of twin veterans, antidepressant use has been linked to thicker arteries, possibly contributing to the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Depression can heighten the risk for heart disease, but the effect of antidepressant use revealed by the study is separate and independent from depression itself, says first author Amit Shah, a cardiology fellow at Emory University School of Medicine.

The data suggest that antidepressants may combine with depression for a negative effect on blood vessels,
he says. Shah is a researcher working with Viola Vaccarino, chair of the Department of Epidemiology at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health.

The study included 513 middle-aged male twins who both served in the U.S. military during the Vietnam War.
Twins are genetically the same but may be different when it