A research paper published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology was recently highlighted in the Huffington Post, a Pulitzer prize-winning online news aggregator based in the United States. The paper, Physical Inactivity After Cardiac Surgery Linked With Substantially Higher Risk of Depression, was co-authored by Rakesh C. Arora, MD, PhD (Principal Investigator, Heart Failure Therapy) and Todd Duhamel, PhD (Principal Investigator, Physical Activity and Chronic Disease Prevention).
Their research indicates that inactive patients following cardiac surgery have a substantially higher risk of depression and that the number of patients suffering from depression after cardiac surgery is as high as 40 per cent. Publishing their findings in the December issue of the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, Arora, from the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Medicine, and Todd Duhamel, from the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreational Management recommend that cardiac patients be assessed for depression and level of physical activity, and remain as active as they safely can after surgery to minimize post-operative depression.
The Huffington Post Article
University of Manitoba UMToday article
Canadian Journal of Cardiology release