Updated 12:30 pm About 20% of U.S. adults report depressive symptoms. A new study reports those adults may be at higher risk for developing atrial fibrillation. That’s according to a new observational study from the U.S. Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).
Dr. Parveen Garg of the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, described his preliminary research findings at a Scientific Session at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health in March 2018.
Clinically depressed patients had a 34% higher risk of developing A-Fib during follow-up. Similarly, individuals taking anti-depressants had a 36% increased risk of developing A-Fib compared to those not taking those drugs.
What is the Link Between Depression & A-Fib?
Dr. Garg could only speculate on the possible link between depression and A-Fib. But he stressed how important it might be to treat people with depression to reduce their risk of developing A-Fib.
The study, “Depressive Symptoms and Risk of Incident Atrial Fibrillation: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis,” was presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention | Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions March 27, 2018.
Depression an Illness That Triggers A-Fib? Should depression be added to the list of causes, triggers, illnesses, or comorbidities which may lead to A-Fib? In addition to sleep apnea, obesity, diabetes, and hypertension, we should probably add depression, according to this study. Depressed people have a 34% higher risk of developing A-Fib.
Anti-depressant Drugs May Trigger A-Fib: But the drugs used to combat depression may be the reason people develop A-Fib in the first place. In this study, people taking antidepressants had a 36% increased risk of having A-Fib.
For people with depression, this study raises more questions than answers.
It’s obviously important to treat people with depression to reduce their risk of developing A-Fib. But at the same time, we have to be very careful with the drugs used to combat depression. Do anti-depressants bring on or trigger A-Fib? Much more research needs to be done to answer this question.