There's a greater prevalence of depression among patients with heart disease, although researchers don't know why. In this first large-scale genetic study of depression in heart disease patients, researchers discovered that genetic predictors of depression appear to be related to vascular system.

A history of major depression increases the risk of heart disease over and above any genetic risks common to depression and heart disease, according to researchers at the School of Medicine and the VA. The findings are reported this week at the annual meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society this week in Chicago.

Researchers have discovered that a prototype drug reduces heart enlargement, one of the most common causes of heart failure. Heart failure, which occurs when the heart can't pump enough blood throughout the body, affects 5 million people in the United States. The condition contributes to 300,000 deaths each year.

Depression and heart disease are the two leading disorders with the strongest contributions to the global burden of disease. Depression and heart disease are also intertwined. In recent years, much attention has been given to depression following heart attack and its effects on prognosis.

Including fish in a balanced diet has long been associated with the prevention of heart disease, and scientists now believe that it can help preserve heart function in patients who have experienced heart failure. A new study reports that moderate fish consumption can help reduce the risk of left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) in post acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients.

Heart failure patients have four times the risk of fractures and 6.3 times the risk of hip fracture as other heart patients. Heart failure patients should be screened and treated for osteoporosis if necessary, researchers said.

A study of nearly 14,000 people shows that clinicians are missing golden opportunities to identify heart disease before patients start displaying symptoms. Researchers found that just over 11% of the respondents had been diagnosed with heart disease. However, only 19% of those said that their heart disease was picked up during routine screening.

People who have been diagnosed with panic attacks or panic disorder have a greater risk of subsequently developing heart disease or suffering a heart attack than the normal population, with higher rates occurring in younger people, according to new research.

Patients with atrial fibrillation, common in those with advanced chronic heart failure, have an increased risk of hospitalization due to heart failure, according to new research. The findings also suggest that atrial fibrillation is not associated with an increased risk of death in heart failure patients, contradicting previous assumptions.

The number of patients over age 65 hospitalized for heart failure increased by 131 percent between 1980 and 2006. Women had a much higher annual increase than men. Among the three major forms of cardiovascular disease (coronary heart disease and stroke being the other two), only heart failure has shown a significant increase in hospitalization rates.