After suffering a heart attack or unstable angina (chest pain caused by blocked arteries), patients who were systematically screened for depression and referred for treatment when appropriate did not show a significant improvement in quality of life compared with those who received no depression screening, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 68th Annual Scientific Session.
After suffering a heart attack or unstable angina (chest pain caused by blocked arteries), patients who were systematically screened for depression and referred for treatment when appropriate did not show a significant improvement in quality of life compared with those who received no depression screening, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 68th Annual Scientific Session.
Experts have identified depression as a risk factor for heart disease. Previous studies estimate that at least 1 in 5 patients with acute coronary syndromes also have symptoms of depression, and there is evidence that depression after a cardiac event can dramatically raise the risk of subsequent heart problems and death for any reason. The new trial suggests using currently available questionnaires to screen patients for depression after a heart attack or unstable angina is not an effective way to reduce the toll depression takes on patients’ quality of life. However, the findings leave open the possibility that other ways of addressing depression could be more effective, according to researchers.
“Based on this study and the best evidence we have, we don’t see a justification for putting large amounts of resources into universal, systematic depression screening for these patients,” said Ian Matthew Kronish, MD, Florence Irving Associate Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center and the study’s lead author. “However, that doesn’t mean physicians shouldn’t be on the lookout for signs of depression or that, if they notice it, they should ignore it. Depression still has a major impact on patients’ quality of life and prognosis overall, and if physicians do find it, they should absolutely try to address it with treatments that can reduce the depressive symptoms.”
Read more at American College of Cardiology
Photo Credit: SaeLoveart via Pixabay
