A new study in Circulation shows that people are more likely to commit suicide after experiencing a heart attack.
Image for illustrative purposes. (Internet source)
Significantly, this risk tripled in the next month and continued to be high for at least five years. This seems to be true for both men and women in any socio-economic position.
Speaking to a Reuters reporter, the author, Karen Kjaer Larsen of Aarhus University in Denmark said: ' We know that many patients with heart attack suffer from anxiety and depression. Our research shows that the mental pain caused by a heart attack is so great that they commit suicide . "
The study analyzed Danish population data from 1981 to 2006 to find out that nearly 20,000 people committed suicide compared to 200,000 others also in this period. As a result, researchers have seen more than 4% of suicides have a history of heart attacks.
The highest risk of suicide occurred in the month immediately after the patients left the hospital. These risks are also particularly high in patients with a history of mental illness.
Other medical experts also agree with the results of this study.