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Saturday, February 18, 2012 – Daily News FEATURES Licentious Lolita luring lonely lad Dear Annie: My 20-year-old nephew has been a troubled youth, despite all the attempts of his fam- ily to help him, including counsel- ing and rehab. When he was 18, he became involved with a messed-up 14-year-old girl who used drugs, alcohol and sex to get her way. several readers have requested it since then. Here it is: A Dog's Plea by Beth Norman Har- ris Treat me kindly, Annie's Mailbox by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar A year ago, my nephew's family moved out of state, but last fall he reconnected with the old girlfriend via Facebook. The girl's father bought my nephew a plane ticket to come visit. She is now a spoiled 17-year-old dropout who refuses to get a job. Worse yet, while visiting, my nephew also reconnect- ed with all their former drug-using "friends." My nephew is now back with his family, but the girl constantly texts and calls. It seems she is planning to run away and join him. His fam- ily is furious. They hadn't known about the plane tick- et and never wanted him involved with this girl. They are trying to get him back into rehab, but he refuses to do anything to help himself. Any ideas? — Florida Dear Florida: It is terri- bly sad when a child is so self-destructive that you can only sit and watch. But your nephew is a legal adult, and there isn't much the family can do to change his behav- ior. Please urge them to con- tact Families Anonymous (familiesanonymous.org) and Because I Love You (bily.org) for help, sugges- tions and emotional sup- port. Dear Annie: Several years ago, you printed an essay about a dog who had lived a long life and had become old and sickly and wanted his master to do him a favor and let him die. It was written from the dog's viewpoint, and I think of it often. Would it be pos- sible to rerun it? — Rock- ford, Ill. Dear Rockford: Thank you for asking. We last printed this in 2007, and my beloved friend, for no heart in all the world is more grateful for kind- ness than the loving heart of me. Do not break my spirit with a stick, for though I might lick your hand between blows, your patience and understanding will more quickly teach me the things you would have me learn. Speak to me often, for your voice is the world's sweetest music, as you must know by the fierce wagging of my tail when the sound of your footstep falls upon my waiting ear. Please take me inside when it is cold and wet, for I am a domesticated animal, no longer accustomed to biwtter elements. I ask no greater glory than the privi- lege of sitting at your feet beside the hearth. Keep my pan filled with fresh water, for I cannot tell you when I suffer thirst. Feed me clean food that I might stay well, to romp and play and do your bid- ding, to walk by your side and stand ready, willing and able to protect you with my life, should your life be in danger. And, my friend, when I am very old, and I no longer enjoy good health, hearing and sight, do not make hero- ic efforts to keep me going. I am not having any fun. Please see that my trust- ing life is taken gently. I shall leave this Earth know- ing with the last breath I draw that my fate was always safest in your hands. Annie's Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please email your questions to anniesmailbox@comcast.n et, or write to: Annie's Mailbox, c/o Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254. Evidence depression linked to heart disease Q: My husband recently read an article online about depression and the heart. He said that because I am a 45-year-old woman with depression, I might be at high risk for heart dis- ease. Is this true? Is there any way to lower my risk? Dr. K by Anthony L. Komaroff, M.D. A: This is an important question because cardio- vascular disease (CVD) — commonly known as heart disease — is the leading cause of death in women as well as men. Millions of women in the United States have some form of CVD, and many will die from it or suffer a life-altering disability. Just because you are a woman, though, doesn't mean you are destined for heart problems. Lots of other things contribute to risk, and many of them can be corrected to help prevent heart disease. These include behaviors and conditions such as smoking, poor diet, physi- cal inactivity, high choles- terol, obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. And while depression isn't on this hit list just yet, your husband is cor- rect that it's likely to be added in the near future. Even though it's not clear whether depression actually causes heart attack and stroke, scientif- ic research indicates that there is a strong link between the two. Two recent reports that studied middle-aged women demonstrate the relation- ship between depression and cardiovascular dis- ease. The first study asked 1,400 women without heart disease to answer questions about their health status and cardiac risk factors, including both personal and fam- ily histories. The researchers also asked three ques- tions to assess depression: Do you often feel sad or depressed? Do you often feel helpless? Do you often feel down- hearted and blue? At the end of the study, the researchers found that the women who answered yes to any of the depres- sion questions developed heart disease at a higher rate than those who answered no to all three questions. And, the more yes answers the women gave, the greater their chances of developing the disease. The second study involved more than 80,000 women ages 54 to 79 with no history of stroke. More than 22 per- cent of the women were depressed or had been depressed in the past. To see if there was a link between stroke and depression, the researchers recorded the number of strokes that occurred over a six-year period. The scientists found that women with current depression had a 41 percent greater risk of stroke than women who had never been depressed, and women with a history of depression had a 23 percent greater risk. They also found that women who took antide- pressants were at greater risk than women who did- n't. But these results do not mean that antidepres- sants cause stroke. Taking antidepressants may just indicate more severe depression, not that the drugs themselves con- tribute to stroke. More research is needed before 5B we can be confident about the impact of these drugs on cardiovascular health. It's clear that there is a link between depression and the heart and circula- tion. There are many theo- ries about the nature of this link. Depression caus- es physical changes in the body that pave the way for cardiovascular disease. It also leads to behaviors that put you at greater risk, such as not exercis- ing, not taking your med- ications properly or not maintaining healthy social connections. We cannot say for sure, however, why or even if depression definitely increases this risk. More research is needed to fully understand this relation- ship. In the meantime, to protect your heart it is important that you talk to your doctor about how to manage risk factors that are in your control — and the latest evidence sug- gests this includes depres- sion. There are several ways to treat depression, including medications, psychotherapy and exer- cise (which also helps the heart and arteries). If you are not currently being treated, or if your current treatment is not helping, talk to your doctor about a new treatment plan. On its own, depression is hard to live with, and developing heart disease can only make things worse. With proper treat- ment, you can lift your spirits and keep your heart happy, too. 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