In the research, the team found that those whose depression symptoms were severe had a double likelihood of having a stroke. Depression among older adults comes with a significant increase on the risk of stroke despite the symptoms of depression seemingly getting better as suggested in a new study. During the study, the researchers actually found that those having severe depression symptoms had double the likelihood of getting stroke compared to those who didn’t have the symptoms. During the first interview, those with symptoms had gotten much better by the time the second interview was done with the risk of getting stroke being 66 percent as reported by the study authors.

Risk of stroke still remains high

It was very surprising to note that the risk of stroke still remained high even when the symptoms seemed to have disappeared and this replicated the urgency of the study. If these findings are replicated, it means that the doctors must identify and get the depressive symptoms treated before they can have harmful effects on the risk of stroke, which can start accumulating. Something worth noting is that the study found only a link to exist between stroke risk and depression. No cause and effect relationship can be proved by the study between these conditions since the design of the study doesn’t make it possible.

Even though it is still not very clear as to how depression and stroke could be linked, other research carried out have revealed that the risk of having high blood pressure is increased by depression as well as nervous system abnormalities and an increase in inflammation as said by the researchers.

Other effects of depression

Depression has also been found to trigger other conditions like infection and a heart rhythm that is abnormal, which is referred to as atrial fibrillation. The study authors noted that this can heighten the risks of stroke. Besides, there is also a high likelihood for people who are depressed to smoke and can also be less active physically. Besides this, the results of the study showed that serious medical risks that come with a major depression. Perhaps the finding that was most compelling is that the risk of getting a stroke is linked to depressive symptoms and eliminating it in short term is highly unlikely even when the depression has been treated successfully.

Depressed persons were found to have a high risk of getting a stroke and the findings showed that there is a high risk of stroke even after the depression easing particularly for women. Still, it was also noted that those aged below 65 years and had depressive symptoms showed a high risk of having stroke in comparison to those aged above 65 and having depression.