According to a new study it is found that heart failure patients are having five times greater risk of death after being discharged from hospital if they also suffer from depression, even if it is moderate.

The study also revealed that people who suffer heart failure, but not depressed have 80 percent lower mortality risk.

The study indicates that reducing mortality among heart failure patients not only require medication but recognition of depression, and counseling and more holistic approach for depression management .

Researchers say that though there are several factors at work, including the severity of the disease, it is important to manage depression.

John Cleland, professor of cardiology at the Imperial College London and the chief investigator of the study said, “Our research clearly shows a strong association between depression and risk of death in the year after discharge from hospital. we expect that the link persists beyond one year.”

For the study, patients hospitalized with heart failure were enrolled. Among the total number of patients 103 patients were not depressed, 27 had mild depression and 24 had moderate to severe depression.

27 patients died during the mean follow up period of 3012 days.

It was found that patients with moderate to severe depression had a five times greater risk of death compared to those who had mild or no depression.

Patients suffering from depression shows lack of interest in regular activities, poor quality of life, loss of motivation, low confidence, poor sleep quality and change in appetite couple with change in weight.

Cleland said, “This could explain the association we found between depression and mortality.”

He said that association remained the same, regardless of severity of heart failure or the presence of comorbities.

The findings of the study are presented at Heart Failure 2015, annual meeting of the Heart Failure Association (HFA) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), in Seville, Spain.