Many diseases, such as heart disease and cardiovascular diseases come with feelings that can be classified as depression. If you have a bad flu, no doubt you will feel despondent, tired, and depressed. The same is true of hypothyroid disease, something that is often misdiagnosed as depression. Is it any wonder then that something as vital as your heart, if not working properly, could cause depression?

One popular dictionary defines depression as “feelings of severe despondency and dejection”.

Depression is now recognized as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease just like other illnesses and risk factors like diabetes, high blood pressure and smoking.

How are heart disease and depression linked?

One way is via stress. When under stress your body releases stress hormones like cortisol that can increase the risk of heart problems. Stress hormones are thought to be related to a host of mental health conditions including anxiety and depression. When not controlled correctly stress can lead to arterial damage, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeats as well as a weakened immune system.

The other more obvious way is simply systemic. If your heart is not working correctly, and your veins and arteries are damaged or full of plaque, you won’t feel good. Your body will suffer higher levels of inflammation. Hormones needed to repair your body won’t get to where they need to go as fast. Nutrients that need to be delivered to your cells will not be absorbed, all factors that will make you feel depressed!
Chicken or the Egg

Determining if you have depression and that is worsening a heart issue, or if you have a heart issue and that is making you feel depressed can be tricky!

Regardless of the origin, heart disease and depression can both be tackled physically and mentally.

Physical

If you have heart disease or cardiovascular issues there are two basic steps you can take to halt and even reverse the problem. The first step is to change your diet. With so many articles and information out there on this subject, it’s unnecessary and exhaustive to go into detail here. Search for heart-healthy diet options online and you will find plenty of information on the subject. Suffice to say, you need to change your diet by moving away from processed foods, and items high in bad types of fat.

The other physical component to healing heart disease and that also can help depression is supplementing with the amino acids L-Arginine and L-Citrulline. These two powerful healing amino acids when combined have been shown to reduce plaque build-up in the arteries and veins, reduce inflammation and help open your veins and arteries. They work by stimulating the production of Nitric Oxide, a substance that has been studied literally hundreds of thousands of times and shown to provide real results in study after study.

How they help the heart is rather straightforward. The removal of plaque and the healing of arteries clean out your cardiovascular system and help it heal. It makes the veins and arteries more elastic, returning them to a more youthful state. This helps reduce high blood pressure and can reverse the symptoms of cardiovascular disease.

How do arginine and citrulline help with depression?

If you have heart disease and your body is in a state of inflammation due to damaged arterial tissue and plaque build-up, it affects your entire body including your mind. A recent study found that even just having dry skin can cause so many inflammatory markers to be produced in the body, that it is now considered a major contributing factor for Alzheimer’s Disease. If something on the outside of your body can cause brain issues, how much more so can something directly linked to your brain ( your circulatory system ) cause issues if it’s not healthy?

By helping to heal your circulatory system, you reduce inflammation and increase blood flow at the same time. So if your experiencing symptoms of depression caused by or related to heart disease, arginine and citrulline can be a major help.

How to Benefit from L-Arginine and L-Citrulline

To fully benefit from these beneficial amino acids, they must be taken in the right amounts and ratios. It also helps to take them with a mix of special antioxidants that boost their effect and duration.