Depressed patients have a higher death risk from health failure, and doctors are starting to ask their patients questions to see if they need counseling in order to mitigate that risk.

A study that was conducted by the European Society of Cardiology suggests that patients with depression are more likely to die within 12 months, and scientists say that people with heart failure should be screened for signs of depression, according to a BBC report.

Obviously there are many factors that affect something like heart failure, but researchers have found that depression is an underestimated factor. Prof. John Cleland, the head of the study who works at the Imperial College London and the University of Hull, said that heart failure is a “modern epidemic,” but better drugs might not be the cure-all scientists should be looking for.

When the heart became weak and stiff, it is at risk of heart failure as it labors to pump blood, resulting in tiredness and shortness of breath — telltale signs of impending heart failure.

Cleland’s team examined 96 patients for the study who had experienced heart failure and asked them some questions to determine if they were depressed, finding that moderate to severe depression was prevalent in those who were dead 300 days later.

It’s not the first time scientists have found such a link, but scientists in the past thought this simply meant people who had depression had a more severe heart condition.

Factors that could play into it include the fact that depression could cause an individual not to seek help as quickly or to take their pills regularly. The research team acknowledged that a bigger study needs to be conducted into the matter, but this does provide a lead into a new way to approach heart conditions.