2007年VOA标准英语-Antidepressants Can Help Prevent Heart Problems

By Melinda Smith
Washington, DC
26 January 2007
 
watch Depression & Heart Disease

For some time now scientists have believed there is a strong link between depression and heart disease.  Standard treatment for depression has often included an antidepressant as well as psychotherapy.  But now a recent study in Canada [published in the Journal of the American Medical Association] indicates that for some heart patients, medicine may be more effective than talking out their problems to a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist¹.  VOA's Melinda Smith has details.

What goes on in the brain, they say, often influences what goes on in the heart.  A finding of the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) from a decade ago still holds true today:  that depressed² people tend to get sick more often. 

In fact, the W.H.O. reports the death rate of older patients suffering from depression is four times higher than those who are not depressed, and most die from heart disease or stroke.

 
Edward Pietrantonio
Sixty-five-year-old Edward Pietrantonio was experiencing a bout³ of depression when he had a heart attack 15 years ago.  "I went through the death of someone that was very close to me and we had problems in the family and everything came at once and then the heart gave out."

His physical and mental illnesses were typical of almost 300 patients who participated in the Canadian study.  One group took antidepressants and the other participated each week in sessions with a therapist.

 
Dr. Francois Lesperance
Dr. Francois Lesperance of the University of Montreal says the results were surprising,  "It has been known for many years that depression is highly prevalent in patients with heart disease, so we wanted to evaluate two treatments of depression. It's like trying to deal with two issues at the same time.  The difficulty to deal with the social issues and the stresses and talking about them at the same time having [a] physical disease was a big challenge and patients with heart disease seem to have difficulty to do that."

One group of patients took citalopram. It is an antidepressant that comes from a class of drugs known as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, or SSRI's for short.  Citalopram is also known under the brand names of Celexa and Lexapro.

Dr. Lesperance says this drug was chosen because it has a low risk of a dangerous interaction with another drug. That is an important factor for many heart patients already taking multiple medications.  The antidepressant helps relieve the depression by raising the level of serotonin in the brain.  "An antidepressant working on the serotonin system in the brain was helping⁴ the patient with depression, improving their depressive symptoms."

When the level of serotonin was increased in the brain, mood improved.  The Canadian study also concluded that patients who depended on weekly sessions with a psychotherapist showed no more improvement than a short visit to the doctor for a minimal⁵ checkup.

Dr. Lesperance says the researchers were not sure why there was no significant improvement: "Talking about these issues, trying to make changes, seems to have been difficult for patients with heart disease."

Dr. Lesperance still believes talk therapy is beneficial to many people and that further comparison of antidepressants and other forms of mental therapy are needed. As a psychiatrist, he urges people to take their emotional feelings seriously.

Patient Edward Pietrantonio agrees the first step toward treatment is asking for help. "They should go see a doctor.  That's all I have to say.  See a doctor.  Don't wait.  That's it.!!"

Video courtesy of Journal of the American Medical Association

1 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

2 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

3 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。