This can lead to a heart attack, angina and some strokes. Heart disease also covers conditions that affect your heart's muscle, valves or cause abnormal rhythms (arrhythmias). Source: British Heart Foundation Advertisement 'This is the largest evidence to date that feelings related to depression are associated with a person's chance of having heart disease or stroke in the future,' said Professor Emanuele Di Angelantonio at the University of Cambridge. 'The observed higher risk is small in magnitude and these results are just one piece of the puzzle.' Researchers based their findings on people enrolled to two different studies – UK Biobank and the Emerging Risk Factor Collaboration (ERFC).