Heart disease patients who develop depression after diagnosis are more likely to have heart attacks, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology sessions in April 2016.
While previous research has shown that depression following surgery is associated with worse outcomes, this study shows that depression following diagnosis also predicts worse outcomes.
In the study of 23,000 patients at 19 medical centers in Canada, patients diagnosed with coronary artery disease who were depressed were 83 percent more likely to die of any cause compared to patients who were not depressed.
Women were the majority of patients suffering depression after diagnosis.
A Swedish study has found that heart attack patients with depression are less often prescribed anti-depressants than people who have not had heart attacks.
Researchers found that only 16 percent of heart attack patients with depression received antidepressants compared to 42 percent of those without heart attacks.
0816-093.txtx
