Exercise Helps Depressed Heart Attack Patients

Depressed or lonely people who experience a heart attack are less likely to suffer subsequent heart attacks if they exercise regularly, new study findings report.

Depressed or lonely people who experience a heart attack are less likely to suffer subsequent heart attacks if they exercise regularly, new study findings report. Among a group of people who had experienced a recent heart attack and reported themselves to be either depressed or socially isolated, less than 6 percent who said they got regular exercise died of a subsequent heart attack within an average of two years, compared with 12 percent of non-exercisers. Based on these results, study author Dr. James Blumenthal recommended that heart attack patients who are also depressed ask their doctors if it is safe for them to exercise. “Physicians should also be aware of these findings and think of prescribing exercise just as they would think of prescribing blood pressure meds,” Blumenthal noted. Previous research shows that exercise reduces the chances of a having a heart attack. Heart attack patients have a higher risk of having another episode if they are also depressed or socially isolated. In their study, Blumenthal and his colleagues followed 2,078 men and women who had experienced a recent heart attack for an average of two years. All participants were either depressed or had low levels of social support. Six months after the initial heart attack, the researchers asked participants if they had been engaging in regular exercise. Nearly 50 percent said they had exercised regularly during the six months since their heart attacks. Non-fatal heart attacks, like fatal events, occurred in only 6 percent of regular exercisers but in 10 percent of non-exercisers. Overall, regular exercisers were more than 50 percent less likely to die than people who said they did not engage in regular exercise, according to the report, published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Moreover, regular exercisers experience a larger decrease in symptoms of depression during the study than non-exercisers. Blumenthal noted that the reason why exercise helps the hearts of depressed patients remains unclear. The Duke University researcher said that exercise may stave off subsequent heart attacks by improving blood pressure, circulation and clotting, for instance. Although exercise clearly appears to help, just how much exercise people at risk of heart attack should get is up for debate, Blumenthal added. “In previous work, we demonstrated that exercise three times per week was just as effective as antidepressant medication in reducing depression. Other studies suggest that 30 to 60 minutes per day on 5 to 7 days per week would be desirable,” he noted. (SOURCE: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: Reuters Health News: May 2004.)