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Are these statements “Only women suffer from bouts of depression”; “Once you get it, you are strangled with it for the rest of your life”; or “It is only in the mind” depression myths? These are some of the statements one often comes across. Yes, there are myths abound about clinical depression, and they all make it hard to have the perspective of it both in terms of its nature and treatment.

Probably, this can be attributed to our propensity to club the word depression to a myriad range of moods and mental illnesses, as the case may be. By this, the real sense of clinical depression warranting treatment gets obscured.

Let’s find out some of the common Depression Myths and their truth:

1.  Top depression myths is that depression is not under the sphere of medical illness

Clinical depression is definitely a grave medical issue with biological and genetic roots, affecting both mind and the body. There is an increased level of stress hormones in the body of the people with depression. Their brain scan also reveals decreased activities in some parts of the brain.

2.    Even if it is a medical problem, you can’t help it

Depression can be treated and over 80 percent of patients respond well. With the breakthrough in new medications, this would surely rise.

Ruling out any other causes of depression like thyroid problem should be done first. For this, the doctor should be contacted immediately, who after proper diagnosis of the cause, would prescribe medicines, psychotherapy or both.

3.    Depression is similar to getting the ‘blues’. Hence, it is normal

Viewing depression like blues is like equating common cold with pneumonia. Everybody has his share of blues in the daily life. They can be the result of some disappointing events or even some frivolous ones like a rainy day. Of course they are short-lived and you don’t develop suicidal tendencies because of them. But, depression can last throughout the life. It is also more agonizing and life-threatening.

4.  The other depression myths is that depression is only a manifestation of self-pity

About 19 million people suffer from depression only in the US. The list of people who have been its victim include great names like Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, George Patton, abolitionist John Brown, Robert E. Lee, Florence Nightingale, Sir Isaac Newton, Stephen Hawking, Charles Darwin, J.P. Morgan, Barbara Bush, Ludwig von Beethoven and Michelangelo. These great people wouldn’t just while away their time pitying themselves!

5.  The other depression myths include you can override depression through sheer will power

Depression is a pathological condition just like diabetes or heart disease. You can’t will it away. It manifests due to certain chemicals changes in the body and hence you can’t get the better of it just through sheer will power. In fact, taking medical advice tells a lot about your determination and courage to overcome it, as this condition is often stigmatized in the society.

6.  Another popular depression myths is that depression will go away on its own

Some very fortunate people may get cured of depression on their own but for the majority of cases, it lasts for a considerable period of time or even for ever. People, who already have it once, also are at a greater risk to have more bouts of depression. Clinical depression can prove to be fatal and may result in suicide, if left untreated.

7.  Another common depression myths is that depression is part of the aging process

While it is not part of the aging process, it is true that elder people have more of the causes that can trigger it – monetary matters, failing health, loneliness etc. People over the age of sixty, are not tuned to accept depression as a normal medical disorder like the present generation and hence, do not seek medical help.

8.    Women are the only victims of depression

The reported cases of women being affected by depression is twice that of men. But sometimes, cases go unreported as in some societies; men do not come forward to seek medical help. Successful suicide attempts are more prevalent among men compared to women. So, it is imperative that men seek medical advice for the symptoms of depression.

9.  One of the depression myths is that depression is part of the growing up process and hence, teenagers and children do not get it

However we may wish to the contrary, children do become the victim of depression. As per the National Institute of Mental Health, one in 33 children and one in 8 adolescent suffer form depression every year. It is the duty of the adults to mark the symptoms of depression, as children would not able to vent their thoughts properly.

10.  Depression is hereditary

If you have a history of depression in your family, you are genetically predisposed to it just like the diabetes or high blood pressure. It doesn’t mean that you would surely get it though. It is just that you are at a higher risk than other people. So, go for medical treatment immediately, if you find any symptoms.

It is difficult to separate some depression myths from the fact, so if you’re unsure about something, it’s in your best interest to consult a physician.

The less invasive process of stenting is also as effective as the widely followed surgical method to clear any blockage in the neck arteries for the prevention of strokes, as revealed by the largest comparative study.

Stenting is the procedure by which flexible tubes are fixed to open up the blockage inside the artery for the clearing of any plaque-clog in the coronary arteries that causes the heart attack. This procedure is also being used to open up any blockage in the neck arteries. However, the surgical procedure known as carotid endarterectomy is still the widely followed method.

Researcher Wayne Clark, MD, of Oregon Health & Science University opines, “This has presented us with two options and one of it should be chosen depending upon the person’s health, age and preference.”

The research study placed at the American Stroke Association’s (ASA) International Stroke Conference revealed that for patients who had undergone surgery, the incidence of heart attack was little bit more patients who had stents faced slightly more strokes, in the weeks after the surgery.

“However, there was no substantial difference in the nature of strokes or heart attack after an average time of 25 years,” Clarke reveals. “The occurrence of stroke, heart attack or death was only 2 percent in both the groups. This is the lowest rate of fatalities in any ‘stenting vis-à-vis surgery’ stroke trial,” He said.

Thomas Brott, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, the lead researcher said, “We expected stents to be more suitable for older patients due to its less invasive procedure. But the study showed that while the stents was more beneficial for patients under the age of 70, surgery was better for patients above 70 years.”

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke with supplemental funding from stent maker Abbott Vascular funded the research.

Stenting vs. Surgery: Trials in Europe show inconclusive results.
The result of the research study announced immediately after the European research findings published in Lancet, an online journal claimed that patients who had stents suffered from higher rate of heart attack, stroke and death, as compared to surgery.

The University of Miami’s Ralph Sacco, MD, president-elect of the American Heart Association attributes this discrepancy to the selection of the patients. To highlight this, he observed, “While the European study covered only patients with symptoms like vision problem and swishing in the ears due to neck blockages, the North American study included patients with or without these symptoms.”

“Furthermore, for the North American studies, the doctors were more experienced.” Brott opines. “The stents used were also different. While in case of the European trials, any approved stents were used, only Abbott’s Acculink Carotid Stent System was used during the North American trials,” Clark said.

Stents is as effective as Surgery
Strokes are reported to be third amongst the leading causes of death in the United States, as around 800,000 Americans suffer from it and almost 140,000 succumb to it.

About 2,502 patients in more than 100 hospitals in the US and Canada, half of whom received stents and the rest surgery were included in the recent study known as CREST.

In the first month after the procedure, 2.3 % of patients of surgery patients suffered heart attack, as compared to 1.1% of stents patient and 4.1% of stents of patients suffered a stroke as compared patients who had undergone surgeries.

The quality of life of the patients who had heart attack was reportedly better than those who suffered from strokes. Within two and half years, 2 percent of patients with stents faced heart attack, stroke or death. This was 2.4% in case patients who had undergone surgery. But this difference is very minor and could be due to chance.

In the European trial, of the 1713 patients, 5.2% of patients, who underwent surgery had heart attack, stroke or death as compared to 8.5% of stent patients.

Men generally don’t like to go for medical tests but it’s important for them to have the following medical tests once a year:

Medical Tests #1:Testosterone level – Low testosterone level can be related to bone strength, growth of hair, sexual performance and overall mood of men. About 5 million of American men are reported to have a low testosterone level.

Medical Tests #2:Testicular check-up – Testicular cancer affects many white men in the 20-34 age group. Any change in its appearance warrants a professional consultation.

Medical Tests #3:Digital rectal examination – This involves the direct check-up made by the physician to investigate the prostrate and colorectal cancer.

Medical Tests #4:STD screening – Studies show 50 percent of American would have contracted a sexually transmitted disease by the time they attain the age of 25. So, get tested for STD every six months.

Medical Tests #5:Colon cancer test – Doctors recommend that men with average risk of colon cancer should have sigmoidoscopies or investigation of signs of polyps or colon cancer apart from yearly stool tests for blood every 5 years or at more frequent intervals, if you have a family history of it.

Medical Tests #6:Hypertension – Almost 33 percent of Americans suffer from high blood pressure, which is a major cause of kidney failure, heart attack and stroke. So, get tested for it at least once a year or at more frequent intervals, if you already suffer from it.

Medical Tests #7:Skin cancer screening – Skin cancer can be prevented, if detection is done at its early stage.

Medical Tests #8:Eye examination – Apart from rectification of vision problem, glaucoma and other age-related mascular degeneration, you can also detect any signs of diabetes and high blood pressure thorough eye examination.

Medical Tests #9:Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test – The age (almost 70 percent of prostate cases are found in elderly men of 65 years or more) and family history (people of African-American origin are at greater risk) constitute the prime risk factors of prostate cancer. So, men above the age of 50 should undergo annual check-up.

Medical Tests #10:Routine physical examination – You may not have any major problem like cancer or stroke. But an annual medical check up should be performed to rule out the risk factors.

A man may need one or all of the above medical tests and it all depends on the general health of the man.

Get the man in your life to go for his annual medical tests to ensure he can lead a long healthy life.

C. Noel Bairey Merz, MD, director of the Women’s Heart Center at the Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, who is also the lead author of a review published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology says that in the case of women, it is not the smooth passage of blood in the prime blood vessels of the heart rather than the decrease in the blood flow, known as ischemia in the small arteries of the heart is of concern. She and her research associates have come up with this conclusion after studying many researches correlating the occurrence of heart diseases and the gender difference.

Elaborating further, Bairey Merz explains, “Women in the age group of 45 to 64 are particularly susceptible to develop functional irregularities in the small arteries. Unfortunately, such vessels are not detected through the traditional angiograms and hence, it may create a false sense of reassurance.”

She and her group of researchers also suggest that, while the blocking of blood flow in the main coronary vessels is termed as coronary heart disease (CHD) and the term ischemic heart disease (IHD) should be used for the reduction in the blood flow in the small arteries.

Bair further reveals that around 20 years ago medical experts began to think that cardiac problems of women are not similar to that of the men. In fact, about 25 to 50 percent of women with cardiac ailment suffer from ischemic heart disease and not the CHD, a typical case of men.

This has been enumerated in their study of National Institutes of Health Women’s Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) started in 1996 under the chairmanship of Bairey Merz.

The cardiac ailments of Men vs. Women

The nature and symptoms of heart problems in case of men and women are different. In case of men, the symptoms like unbearable pain and pressure in the chest that one come across the Hollywood movies are manifested. The women generally do not show these exertion symptoms but complain of pressure in the chest. Other symptoms of cardiac ailments in women include indigestion and gasping.

Bairey Merz also says that women are also more likely to develop functional irregularities in the small arteries. While there is fatty buildup in the large arteries and hence obstruction in the coronary arteries of men, the arteries of women are more open. Due to this, often their treatment is not fully optimized, as it does not fall in the pattern.

Bairey Merz says in this regard, “Instead of focusing on the obstructions in the main heart vessels, in case of women, care should be taken to look into the possibility of ischemia or ischemic cardiac problems.”

The other salient features of the study are as follows –

• The rate of hospitalization of women due to cardiac problem is more than that of men. Also, they are at a higher risk of death due to it than men.
• The number of women, who succumb to cardiac diseases, is more then that of the men in the United States annually – 455,000 women as against 410,000 men.
• The level of C-reactive protein, an index of inflammation and a pointer of cardiac ailment, is more in women than men.
• The Framingham Risk Score used traditionally to classify the risks of heart disease, puts more than 90 percent of women in the low risk category. But the newer method, the Reynolds Risk Score, may show a more appropriate measure for women.

Re-evaluating the medical findings

Giving credence to the study, Nieca Goldberg, MD a cardiologist and spokeswoman for the American Heart Association and the director of the New York University Langone Medical Center Women’s Heart Center and clinical associate professor of medicine at NYU, says,” The study has taken into account the smaller studies and have made an assessment of them for the doctors.”

Bairey Merz advises women, who think they have a cardiac disease, “Don’t be complacent about the fact that the angiogram report is okay. You might be having the syndrome of ischemia. So, if you suspect of any wrong diagnosis, always seek a re-evaluation or second opinion.”

She also assures that a number of hospitals have heart programs, exclusively meant for women.

This original article is presented to you by MyHealthToday.com © 2009

It is not advisable to follow health rules blindly. The age-old advice of health experts like drinking lots of water, doing heavy work-outs, devouring tons of green salads may not hold true for some people and they may not even know it. For instance, take the case of Elaine Monarch. Her natural affinity for whole wheat bread and other cereal products got a boost, when her physician advised her to consume more of them, after a bout of bloating and diarrhea.

It almost proved fatal. She had celiac disease. Her immune system reacted to the glutens from the grains and in the process; tissues in her small intestine were distressed. Now, she avoids taking grains and instead, gets her share of fiber from nuts, fruits and food supplements. She has been working as the founder of the Celtic Disease Foundation.

The health rules that every American gets perennially from the health experts are indeed, right for most and the advices to quit smoking or to avoid foods trans-fats should be diligently followed. [quote]But some of the other general health rules may not be beneficial for everybody, as can be viewed from the fact that even the USDA has not placed a section for celiac disease, in their recommended food pyramid. The advices are based on the results of surveys, which may not always be all-encompassing. Even the success rate of a staggering 94 percent of the sampling studies, still leaves aside 6 percent of people, which may be a sizable population.

Dan Rod, MD, assistant vice chancellor for the personalized medicine at Vanderbilt University says in this regard, “The recommendation made by the health experts, may not always hold true in some individual cases.”

Hence, we analyzed some of the established health rules and sought the advices of the health experts about the precautions, just in case; they may prove to be otherwise.

Health rules about your exercise regimen

Recommendation: Excessive exercise is more beneficial than moderate ones

Be cautious, if you are fighting obesity. By indulging in vigorous exercises, you would feel exhausted too soon and as result, wouldn’t be able to burn sufficient calories to attain weight loss. Studies showed the amount of weight loss was around 15 to 18 pounds in women, who took up a lengthy but moderate exercise regimen as also with those who did strenuous workouts for shorter spells. In fact, a study conducted among 184 women in 2003, revealed that women who walked for two and half hours each week at a moderate speed and those who took up a more elaborate and vigorous exercise regimen, achieved the same level of weight loss. So, to fight obesity, take up such exercises that you can do for 30 to 40 minutes without gasping for air.

Recommendation: Walking is the easiest and best exercise

Do it in moderation if you have any cardiac ailment and on smoggy days. The dust particles present in the air on a smoggy day can accentuates the risk of a cardiac attack. So, on such days, it is better to do your workouts indoors, preferably in an air-conditioned room, as it can reduce the level of air pollutants by half.

Recommendation: Routine household activities like gardening can make you healthier

Be cautious, if you are suffering from any cardiac ailment and want to prevent a cardiac attack. While any sort of physical activities helps, the routine household works like cooking and washing may be too light and of short duration in order to prevent the risk of blockage of arteries and cardiac attack. On the other hand, the risks of cardiac attacks can be significantly reduced by doing moderate to heavy exercise 30 minutes every week. A brisk walk for two hours each week can reduce the risk of cardiac ailments by 50 percent, as revealed by a study carried out on around 40,000 women.

Recommendation: Swimming is the perfect aerobic exercise

The chlorine present in the swimming pool can lead to various allergies and disorders. This is more so in the case of children. People with asthma and children under the age of seven with any form of allergy, should also avoid getting into the pool and settle for some other form of aerobic exercise. Contrary to popular belief, swimming does not lead to a substantial weight loss, if you are fighting obesity.

Recommendation: Devouring lots of leaf green vegetables

Be careful if you are taking warfarin (Coumadin), the blood thinner drug, which is taken to prevent the harmful blood clots. It restricts the action of vitamin K, the vital component for blood-clotting. But taking high amount of vitamin K-rich leaf green vegetable like spinach, kale and Swiss chard can inhibit the effect of the drug. Hence, don’t eat too much of them. Thus, the common health rules of eating more leaf green vegetables can do more harm in this case.

Recommendation: Taking eight glasses of water daily

Be cautious of this health rules if you have bladder control problem. By moderating your fluid intake, you can avoid leaks. Take the advice of your doctor about how much water you should drink every day. If it is less than eight glasses, do not worry, as in any case, around one-fifth of the body’s water requirement is from the food, as per the National Health and Nutrition Examination survey. And if you pass light colored urine every eight hours, then in all probability, you are drinking sufficiently.

Health rules about the drugs you take

Recommendation: Low blood pressure is always better

This health rules may not be true if you have coronary artery disease (CAD). It is advisable to keep your blood pressure at 120/80, so as to prevent a cardiac attack or stroke. But very low blood pressure is risky, as the flow of blood through the narrowed vessels gets restricted. Study conducted among more than 22,000 patients who had CAD, revealed that a diastolic pressure of below 70, have twice the risk of cardiac attacks and deaths. Thus the health rules of having low blood pressure is not always good in every case.

But, for patients who had angioplasty or bypass surgery to clear blocked vessels or for the passage of the blood via another healthy vessel, having a low blood pressure is not risky.

Recommendation: Use of acetaminophen is safe and ideal for relief from pain like arthritis

Be cautious, if you regularly take wine (alcohol). Acetaminophen, in combination with alcohol, can damage the liver. So, the label of acetaminophen contains a warning to people who take three or more drinks regularly when using them. Donald Jensen, a board member of the American Lever Foundation warns that light drinks can also be damaging. According to him, you should take only 2 mg of acetaminophen on days when you drink; the recommended dose of 4 mg/day notwithstanding. The health rules of taking drugs have to be taken seriously and in accordance to what your physician prescribed.

Recommendation: Whole foods are better source for nutrients than pills

This health rules may not apply if you eat only vegetarian foods. You have to depend on pills to supplement your needs of vitamin D and B12, if you avoid taking eggs and milk. Recent researches propose that the recommendation for vitamin D should be 1,000 to 2,000 FU to be on the safer side than the presently recommended 200 to 600 IU. Though one can get enough iron from vegetarian foods, it needs a sensible planning. You should get your hemoglobin test done, if you tire easily.

Recommendation: In case of chronic pain, anti-inflammatory, non-steroidal medicines like Ibuprofen or prescription drug like Indocin are the safest and most effective

Be careful if you are above 65 years old. NSAIDS can lead to stomach ulcers and internal bleeding, especially among the elderly people. Experts say that deaths due to NSAID-related bleeding mostly occur among the aged persons. The best thing for persons over the age of 65 would be to consult their doctor. You can take other drugs like acetaminophen, corticosteroids or narcotic like Demerol, while diligently following the instructions of the doctor to take care of any side-effects or over-dependence.

Health rules are not to be followed blindly, consult your physician whenever you have doubts.