Study Links Depression to Increased Risk of Peripheral Artery Disease

In a study of more than one thousand men and women who have heart disease, depression has been associated with an increased risk of peripheral artery disease (PAD). The study was done by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco.

PAD is a circulatory problem in which narrowed arteries reduce blood flow to the limbs – usually the legs and feet – resulting in pain, reduced mobility and, in extreme cases, gangrene and amputation. Research results appear in the July 26, 2012, online edition of the Journal of the American Heart Association. For more information, click here to read the full release.