For a few seconds after Rahul woke up, he had forgotten what had happened. He looked around and saw white sheets on him, a window far from his bed from which he could only see the top of a tree. He heard beeping and looked behind him to see numerous monitors and it all started coming back to him. He was 55 years old and he had a mild stroke.
He saw the worry in his wife’s eyes and he knew his children, though grown adults, would be very anxious to hear how he was doing.
“How did this happen?” he asked his wife. He noticed his speech was slower and his tongue felt heavier than normal.
“The doctors have no idea. They think maybe it has to do with your hypertension,” she answered softly trying to sound strong. She paused and said what Rahul was thinking, “But it’s been under control with medication. It just doesn’t make any sense.”
He knew he was getting older but in his mind strokes were something that happened to people of his parents age or towards the end of your life. He felt far too young to be dealing with this.
“Thankfully the doctor said it was mild and you shouldn’t have any permanent damage, as far as he can tell,” his wife said enthusiastically.
“I wish we knew why,” Rahul said.
Strokes, which are an interruption of blood supply to the brain, can occur at any age but most often occur to people over the age of 65. It is the third leading cause of death in the United States and in India and is leading cause of serious, long-term disability. Until now, physicians and researchers believed the most common risk factors aside from family history age and gender included high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes among others.
However, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health have identified depression as a significant risk factor in developing a stroke at any age. After a review of numerous studies that included over 300,000 patients, researchers at Harvard found that depression was associated with 45% increased risk for a stroke, 55% increased risk for a fatal stroke and 25% increased risk for ischemic stroke.
As more and more research is being conducted about depression, it seems as though the connection between it and the development of a stroke is much closer than previously thought. Depression causes a significant change to the nervous and endocrine systems which are related to experiencing a stroke. In addition, people who are depressed experience chronic stress, which is a risk factor for lowered immunity, higher inflammation and overall poorer health. In addition, people living with depression are less likely to take care of themselves, exercising less frequently and choosing higher fat foods. Depression is also highly correlated with being overweight or obese, which is a risk factor for developing a stroke. If that is not enough, depression is also a risk factor for developing diabetes and hypertension which are both high risk factors for a stroke.
For this reason, the importance of being being able to identify depressive symptoms is crucial for South Asians. Depression is not just feeling sad or blue. It is a real emotional health issue that has serious consequences on our bodies and future health. Depression is one of the easiest emotional heWalth issues to treat and with early treatment, South Asians will be taking one more step to reduce their risk of developing numerous serious health conditions, including a stroke especially at an early age.
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