The All-New Bunrab

Apparently, the marketing people from Coreg read this blog. They asked me if I'd be willing to add a link to Coreg's web site. I checked out the site, and decided that it would be worthwhile to add a link to the part of their web site that specifically discusses heart failure. There are some interesting bits of information in there, including differences in the incidence of heart failure among races, which I knew some of, but did not know that Mexican-American women have a lower incidence of heart failure than either Anglo or African-American women. So, you might also find interesting information by reading Coreg's site, despite its equally obvious commercial intent. It's by gathering information from as many sources as possible that we learn the most, right?

Another article of interest (I've been on antidepressants since long before I got diagnosed with CHF):

( Depression Worsens Outcomes for Heart Failure Patients )

This is especially interesting in light of something my cardiologist told me back when I first got started on Coreg (carvedilol), which is that many people get depression as a side effect of taking beta-blockers until they get fully acclimated to them, and that for that reason while the dose of Coreg is being titrated, which takes weeks, the cardiologist asks questions at every visit intended to detect depression and consider prescribing anti-depressants. So, depression is a side-effect of one of the medications used to treat heart failure, and depression can lead to worse outcomes in heart failure... we're sort of in a catch-22, aren't we!!

This is, of course, NOT a message that you should stop taking your Coreg; for one thing, for most people the benefits of the beta-blocker undoubtedly outweigh the risks, and for another thing, discontinuing any medication suddenly is a bad idea, and especially a bad idea for certain drugs including beta-blockers. Suddenly stopping taking your Coreg could land you in the hospital right quickly. However, if you are taking Coreg and feel fatigued, listless, have trouble concentrating, or have trouble sleeping through the night, these could be signs of depression, and you should ask your doctor about appropriate additional treatment for depression.