Patient Education Caring For Your Heart Booklet | Page 39

As You Recover
Even as you read this, your heart is busy
healing itself. Depression
If you had a heart attack, scar tissue is
forming over the area that was damaged.
The arteries are branching out so that
they can bring more blood to the
damaged area. It takes about 6 weeks for
your heart to heal after a heart attack. Depression is a treatable medical illness
that involves the body, mood, and
thoughts. It is caused in part by changes
in brain chemicals and can be triggered
by diffi cult life events, stress, or a major
illness, so people with heart disease are
at risk for depression.
You will feel tired in the early days of
your recovery. You will be given tips on
how to save energy and make your daily
tasks easier at home.
Symptoms
It is not uncommon to feel sad or blue
during your recovery. Sadness usually
lessens and goes away with time.
Follow the activity guidelines in this
book as you gradually resume your
normal activities. Following these
guidelines will allow your heart to heal,
as each day you gradually increase your
activities to strengthen your heart muscle.
Depression is different. If you fi nd
yourself feeling blue or down or having
any of these signs most of the time for at
least 2 weeks, you should contact your
doctor:
What About
Your Feelings?  Loss of