Exercise as a Treatment for Depression in CHD Patients: A Report

This report examines the relationship between exercise and depression, specifically focusing on patients with Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). It references Blumenthal et al.'s (2012) research, which highlights the effectiveness of aerobic exercise in reducing depressive symptoms in CHD patients. The report further discusses how aerobic exercise improves the overall exercise capacity of CHD patients, citing Conraads et al. (2015), who demonstrated improvements in peripheral endothelial function and diastolic blood pressure. It also references Mann, Beedie, and Jimenez (2014), emphasizing the positive impact of regular aerobic exercise on blood cholesterol levels. The report concludes that aerobic exercise not only improves mental health but also enhances the physical health of individuals with CHD, while cautioning against high-intensity cardio. The assignment brief mentions a research study with three categories: Exercise, Sertraline and Placebo, and the research results showed that the participants prescribed aerobic exercise achieved “significantly greater reductions in depressive symptoms associated with exercise” (p.1061) at a p-value of 0.607 compared to placebo at a p-value of 0.052 (Blumenthal et al., 2012). The research concludes that depression could be treated by exercise. In applying this week learning (Laureate, 2014a,b; 2017) to the exploration of data presented in Blumenthal et al., 2012, suggest the research demonstrates a significant association between exercise and depression. Chi-square test of association is used to test statistical significance in data that can be categorised using conventional nominal scales to examine the association between two variables (Curtis

Running head: HEALTHCARE
Healthcare
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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HEALTHCARE
Depression, Coronary Heart Disease and Exercise
In this article, my fellow friend has highlighted that there is an inherent relationship
with exercise in reducing the severity of depression among the individuals suffering from
coronary heart disease (CHD). In the discussion paper emphasis was given to aerobic
exercise for the reduction of depression (Blumenthal et al., 2012). In relation to this, I would
like to highlight further that aerobic exercise helps in the improvement of the overall exercise
capacity of the patients with CHD. Conraads et al. (2015) conducted a randomized control
trial over 200 CHD patients in order to check the efficacy of aerobic exercise. The analysis of
the results highlighted that aerobic exercise helps in the improvement of the peripheral
endothelial function along with a reduction in the diastolic blood pressure (p<0.001). The
review conducted by Mann, Beedie and Jimenez (2014) showed that the practice of regular
aerobic exercise helps in the improvement of the level of the blood cholesterol among the
patients of CHD. Moreover, regular practice of exercise helps to increase the level of physical
activity, which in turn leads to a decrease in one of the prime risk factors of CHD,
dyslipidaemia.
Thus from the above analysis, it can be said that the performance of the aerobic
exercise not only helps in reducing the level of depression or the improvement of the mental
health condition, but also helps in improving the overall physical health conditions of the
people of CHD. However, high-intensity cardio must be avoided for the individuals with
CHD as it might lead to adverse disease outcome (Weston et al., 2014).

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References
Blumenthal, J. A., Sherwood, A., Babyak, M. A., Watkins, L. L. Smith, P. J., Hoffman, B. M,
… Hinderliter, A. L. (2012). Exercise and pharmacological treatment of depressive
symptoms in patients with coronary heart disease. Journal of the American College of
Cardiology, 60(12, 1053-1063.
Conraads, V. M., Pattyn, N., De Maeyer, C., Beckers, P. J., Coeckelberghs, E., Cornelissen,
V. A., ... & Possemiers, N. (2015). Aerobic interval training and continuous training
equally improve aerobic exercise capacity in patients with coronary artery disease: the
SAINTEX-CAD study. International journal of cardiology, 179, 203-210.
Mann, S., Beedie, C., & Jimenez, A. (2014). Differential effects of aerobic exercise,
resistance training and combined exercise modalities on cholesterol and the lipid
profile: review, synthesis and recommendations. Sports Medicine, 44(2), 211-221.
Weston, K. S., Wisløff, U., & Coombes, J. S. (2014). High-intensity interval training in
patients with lifestyle-induced cardiometabolic disease: a systematic review and meta-
analysis. Br J Sports Med, 48(16), 1227-1234.