Preventing a new heart attack

Heart attack patients who suffer from depression, which happens in one of every five cases, can cut their risk of suffering another heart attack by taking antidepressant drugs, a study has found.

Depression and heart disease have long been recognized as companions, and one can lead to the other, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Depressed people may find it harder to take their medicines, and depression can also result in elevated levels of stress hormones, which can harm the heart.

The study, paid for by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, was published in the July issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry and involved 1,834 men and women who were depressed or “socially isolated” after suffering heart attacks.

It found that use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors -- a class of drugs that includes Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft -- was associated with a 43% lower risk of death or recurrent nonfatal heart attack compared with those in the group studied who did not take the drugs.