Depression and anxiety in cardiovascular disease.

Depression and anxiety in cardiovascular disease. Kardiol Pol. 2016 May 10; Authors: Małyszczak KM, Rymaszewska J Abstract Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mental disorders often coexist. Mood and anxiety disorders are common in patients treated by general practitioners, where the prevalence of those disorders may be two times higher than in the general population (35%). Moreover, the prevalence rises up to 40% in patients suffering from cardiovascular disease. Observational studies revealed that depression caused an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and also increased the risk (1.2 to 2.7 fold) of incidents that led to cardiac-related, and all-cause death in patients with a history of CVD. There is not clear, whether prominent anxiety influence CVD significantly. For sure, its influence is not significant when it occurs together with depression, but may be important when anxiety occurs without depression. Unfortunately, the antidepressant treatment does not have an effect on the course of CVD nor on mortality in patients with CVD and concomitant depression. Out of tens studies carried out in different countries by different researchers using different methodologies, few revealed an effect of antidepressant treatment on the course of heart disease. Some of the studies showed mitigation of the severity of depression. Uniform conclusions concerning the safety of use of antidepressants in patients with CVD cannot be ...
Source: Kardiologia Polska - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Kardiol Pol Source Type: research