Family Cardiac Caregivers May Have Higher Heart Disease Risk

Columbia University Medical Center

Being a caregiver for a family member recently hospitalized with heart disease can affect the caregiver’s mental health—and possibly the caregiver’s own heart health, according to research presented in March 2008. Researchers found these results when studying psychological strain and depression in people who provided most or all of a patient’s care.

Researchers examined heart risk factors in family members of cardiac patients and found that those who provided all or most of a patient’s care had higher levels of risk factors for heart disease than non-caregivers—and those who reported higher caregiver strain after six months were more likely to be depressed than those who provided less or no care.

Lori Mosca, M.D., professor of medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, presented these findings at the American Heart Association’s 48th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.

Dr. Mosca’s study is part of the ongoing National Institutes of Health-sponsored Family Intervention Trial of Heart Health (FIT Heart), for which Dr. Mosca is the principal investigator. For FIT Heart, researchers recruited 501 family members or co-habitants of patients hospitalized for cardiac events. Six months later, researchers determined the approximate time each spent as a caregiver, and assessed their lifestyles, psychological strain and whether they were depressed.

Caregivers who reported the highest levels of depression and the lowest levels of social support at baseline had the highest level of caregiver strain reported at six months, Mosca said. Because stress and depression can raise the risk of heart disease, caregivers need also to care for themselves, such as being sure to engage in regular physical activity, she said.

Researchers hypothesized also that family members of a hospitalized heart patient might think at the time about their own risk of cardiac disease. If so, “this is a motivational moment and a unique opportunity to educate them, and help them lower their risks,” Dr. Mosca added.

Additional Resources for Caregivers

The American Heart Association’s Heart of Caregiving features news, resources and online forums for families whose loved one has experienced heart disease or a heart attack, including an online video on heart disease risk for cardiac caregivers.  

The American Medical Association offers a free online questionnaire that caregivers can use to assess their own level of well-being.

Coming Up Next Month…see the July 2008 issue of Caring Right at Home to learn how cardiac rehabilitation can help heart patients improve health and avoid another heart attack.

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