Depression dramatically raises risk of death from heart attack, stroke

"Doctors have long noticed that depression dramatically increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and death after a heart attack, but for years they have been lacking the pieces of the puzzle that would explain why. Now, researchers at Loyola University Health System in Maywood, Ill., may be on the verge of filling in key pieces of that puzzle. In a study just published, the researchers find that depressed patients have higher levels of inflammatory substances in their blood. Inflammation is the process by which the body responds to infections, injuries or stress. The study was recently published in the World Journal of Biological Psychiatry - Physorg.com