Bob on the long road to recovery and how it affected his emotional state (:41)
"I began to seriously wonder when I would get better, and that's a kind of depression."
Click the thumbnails below to watch more real stories.
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Emotional State Affects Heart
Situation—and hormones—can trigger the blues
( :46 )
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Heart Disease Blues
"I could only do a few things"
( :41 )
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Post Heart Surgery
Recovery was hard, empty
( :51 )
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Overwhelmed and Afraid
"I felt like a whiner"
( 1:00 )
Share Your Thoughts
Have you ever felt depressed after surgery?
Bob was an active walker who loved his job teaching history. In this video he shares the helpless feeling he had after heart surgery: He could barely feed himself, and he was tired every day. As a result, he became depressed. Depression affects the heart in many ways, both before and after heart disease. It can disrupt the heart’s rhythm, encourage inflammation and blood clots, and bathe the body in stress hormones that can raise blood pressure and harden arteries.
People with blocked coronary arteries have reduced blood flow to the heart, but they can also have blockage in the arteries in their brain making them vulnerable to strokes.
Emotional State Affects HeartSituation—and hormones—can trigger the blues
Heart Disease Blues"I could only do a few things"
Post Heart SurgeryRecovery was hard, empty
Overwhelmed and Afraid"I felt like a whiner"
