Cardiovascular risk in individuals with depression

Abstract

Depression and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are both common illnesses. Several studies demonstrated that depressed individuals have higher mortality compared to age- and gender-matched population, with an excess of cardiovascular deaths. There is a bidirectional association between depression and CVD. Several factors can interact and influence this relationship: poverty and social inequality, reduced accessibility to health care, biological alterations (as reduced heart rate variability, endothelial dysfunction, increased inflam-mation and platelet function, and hyperactivity of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis), side effects of psychiatric medication, lower adherence to medical treatments, and higher frequency of cardiovascularrisk factors (higher tobacco use, physical inactivity, obesity, dia-betes mellitus). This article aims to update the current evidence of the possible mechanisms involved in the association between depression and CVD.