People with mental health disorders may be at much higher risk of heart disease or stroke than the general population. This is according to a new study recently presented at this year's Canadian Cardiovascular Congress in Vancouver, Canada.
Past studies have associated mental health disorders with increased risk of cardiovascular problems. Last year, for example, Medical News Today reported on a study linking bipolar, schizophrenia, depression, neurotic disorders and other mental illnesses to a higher risk of coronary heart disease.
In 10 studies that specifically addressed care for people with schizophrenia, those with the disease received only half the interventions offered to those without schizophrenia," lead researcher Alex J. Mitchell, of the University of Leicester and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, said in a news release from the university.
Six studies involving more than 800,000 people found that the risk of death was 11% higher in the year after a cardiac event in people with a history of serious mental illness than those without.
"People with known mental health conditions have higher background rates of cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking, inactivity and obesity. We already know that this is reflected in a higher rate of heart disease, but what we demonstrate here is that mortality is greater even after patients come under health care," Mitchell said. "We don't yet know the reason for these poorer outcomes but it is worrying that we also find such patients may receive less frequent lifesaving interventions."
The study authors concluded more research is needed to determine whether patients with severe mental illness are declining treatment or whether physicians are not offering the same level of care to the mentally ill that they offer to their patients without mental disorders.
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