Can chronic heart disease lead to active suicidal ideation? – A case report of a planned suicide

Abstract

The link between chronic illness and depression is complex but indisputable. Individuals with depression may resort to suicide to end their suffering, especially if they have an intractable and incurable illness. Evidence suggests that young people with chronic illness are more likely than older individuals to experience concomitant mental illnesses and thus have an increased risk of suicide attempts. Determined suicidal individuals may use either multiple, potentially fatal, methods in a single event or a single, excessively fatal method to ensure that they do not survive. This may happen in cases where an individual attempts suicide for the first time. In these circumstances, determining the cause of suicide is of paramount importance for future risk assessment and prevention. This report describes the case of a patient with known heart disease who self-inflicted multiple, sharp force injuries on his neck and wrists to end his life.