Depression Increases the Risk of Stroke by Amanda Macmillan discusses how strokes and depression are related. People with depression are more likely to have a stroke than mentally healthy people, and their “strokes are more likely to be fatal”, according to a new analysis published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Although this article says that depression is only a minor risk to health compared to high blood pressure, it is still a risk not worth taking. An expert says 4% of the estimated 795,000 strokes that occur in the United States each year can be attributed to depression. This seems like a small risk but if depression is added on with other things, like high blood pressure or being obese, the risk can be deadly. After conducting a research project, Dr. Pan, a scientist says, "We knew that depression raises a person's risk of developing diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease," Pan says. "We also knew that depression can occur after patients suffer a stroke. We just didn't have strong enough evidence to know if the reverse was true, or what really comes first."
This article is very important. It is very important to a lot of people in the world who deal with depression. As the article states, a lot of factors, along with depression can increase the risk of a stroke. Things such as drinking, drugs, and overeating can attribute to both depression and strokes. Another huge problem with people who suffer from depression is the fact that their drugs either make their depression worse or have side effects including strokes. People unaware of these risks, as Dr. Pan says, can suffer and even die. Humanity has to start dealing with these problems because depression is a serious disease. Some people think it is not that serious but it is.
This article does a phenomenal job of explaining how depression can contribute to strokes. An uses research as examples and proves that depression truly increases the risk of strokes. The author talked about the condition in a very serious way, helping people understand the seriousness of it. Although the author clearly states that depression contributes to strokes, She doesn’t explain how other conditions such as alcoholism contribute to strokes. I think that the author could have gone into a little more depth about how depression actually makes people more susceptible to strokes. Overall, the author makes the article very interesting and informative, and helps show how serious depression is.
MacMillan, Amanda. "Depression Increases Risk of Stroke, Study Says - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. Web. 21 Sept. 2011
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ReplyDeleteI found Michael’s review of the article on the correlation between strokes and depression to be very interesting. First, Michael’s review was very well written, and the point of the article was clear to understand. Next, I found the quotes that Michael used in the review to be very helpful at understanding what is at the crux of the article. Moreover, these supporting quotes help to give the article validity, in that we are certain the persons of authority are the ones who conducted the study. Moreover, these quotes help to portray the severity of the situation at hand. Finally, I like how Michael didn’t get into too many facts or specifics, as it made the article easy to understand. It was not just filled with facts, but also a lot of his personal insight.
ReplyDeleteA few things could have been better in this article. It would have been nice to know a little bit more about the study, as in, how was in conducted, and how was all of the data compiled. Also, I would have liked to know some specific examples of the drugs which are supposed to fight depression, but instead, may cause strokes. Finally, it would be really interesting to know whether or not there is a correlation between someone’s level of depression and stroke, that is, if someone is more depressed than someone else, are they more likely to suffer a stroke?
I was surprised that stroke and depression have any relationship at all, yet I learned. One thing from the article that I found very interesting is that depression can contribute to stroke in a vast array of ways. For instance, depression may cause an increase in stress, which can trigger dangerous inflammation of the blood vessels, or that people depressed are more likely to drink and eat unhealthy diets. All in all, I think this review illustrates that depression is a very serious disease and much more attention should be paid to it.
Michael chose a fascinating piece to write his review on. His explanation of the article is clear and easy to understand. He not only did he grasp the essence of the article, but he was also able to relay the information in a way that other people could have a better understanding too. I found that Michael did an exceptional job at integrating quotes and statistical data, as well. The quotes flow well in his writing, and make me as a reader feel more connected to the article. Similarly, the added data provides the reader with insight on the mathematical basis of the article. Lastly, after reading the original writing and Michaels review, I feel that Michael’s negative critic of the article is justified. The author could have gone into more depth about how depression and strokes are linked.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I found this review very informative and attention grabbing, there are few changes I would suggest to make it even better. For example, Michael frequently repeated words in his writing. If this occurred less often his writing would be stronger. With this problem was changed, readers would become more focused on the content of the article, and less so on the amount of times he used the word “important” in one paragraph. Moreover, there are grammatical errors that should be addressed. The second sentence in the last paragraph, “An uses research as examples and proves that depression truly increases the risk of stroke,” does not make sense because of a grammatical mistake. However, these problems occur in many writings and can easily be fixed.
Overall, Michael wrote an above average review from which I learned a lot. Before reading it, I did not understand how many people in America suffered from strokes each year. Now I know that 795,000 stroke occur yearly in the US alone. This article and review also taught me that depression could cause physical conditions like a stroke or diabetes.