Eating well and staying healthy can help depressed people avoid heart problems
Association between Life's essential 8 and incident cardiovascular disease among individuals with depression: a prospective study.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Suboptimal blood pressure was the top contributor to CVD burden — not diet, BMI, or physical activity.
Most public health messaging focuses on diet and exercise as the main heart protectors — but here, BP control dominated even among people with depression, where lifestyle is often disrupted.
Practical Takeaways
If you or someone you know has depression, prioritize checking and managing blood pressure regularly — it’s the single biggest preventable heart risk.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Suboptimal blood pressure was the top contributor to CVD burden — not diet, BMI, or physical activity.
Most public health messaging focuses on diet and exercise as the main heart protectors — but here, BP control dominated even among people with depression, where lifestyle is often disrupted.
Practical Takeaways
If you or someone you know has depression, prioritize checking and managing blood pressure regularly — it’s the single biggest preventable heart risk.
Publication
Journal
The Canadian journal of cardiology
Year
2024
Authors
Qiang Chen, Wanying Zhao, Qi Zhang, Siqi Li, Jiaqi Zhao, Wanlan Chen, Min Xia, Yan Liu
Related Content
Claims (4)
Eating healthy, nutritious food can help lower your chances of having heart problems like heart attacks or strokes.
If you have depression, having high or poorly controlled blood pressure is the biggest reason you might have a heart problem or stroke—and if you fixed your blood pressure, you could prevent the most of these issues.
In people with depression, about half of serious heart problems and nearly half of non-deadly heart issues could be linked to not following key heart-healthy habits over five years.
People with depression who follow heart-healthy habits like eating well, exercising, and not smoking have a much lower chance of having a heart attack or stroke—about two-thirds lower—than those who don’t follow these habits, based on a 12-year study.