TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Treating Hearts, Heads

ADVERTISEMENT

The Associated Press

Published: September 30, 2008

DALLAS - Heart patients should be regularly screened for signs of depression, the American Heart Association recommended Monday.

Depression is about three times more common in heart attack survivors and those hospitalized with heart problems than the general population, according to the recommendations published in the journal Circulation. The authors said only about half of heart doctors say they treat depression in their patients - and not all those diagnosed with depression are treated.

"I think we could reduce considerable suffering and improve outcomes," by screening, said Erika Froelicher, professor of nursing at the University of California, San Francisco.

While there's no direct evidence that heart patients who are screened fare better, depression can result in poorer outcomes and a poorer quality of life, the panel said. Depressed patients may skip their medications, or not change their diet or exercise or take part in rehabilitation programs, they said.

Anyone from cardiologists to nurses to primary care doctors can and should be involved in determining whether a patient is depressed, said Froelicher, who was co-chairwoman of the panel that wrote the recommendations.

Psychiatrist Michelle Riba said the statement's emphasis on frequent screening is important.

"What you want to see in a particular patient is how they do over time," said Riba, past president of the American Psychiatric Association, which has endorsed the association's recommendations.

Barbara Forman, 62, struggled with depression after her double bypass about five years ago. She said she spent most of her time at her Englewood, Ohio, home sitting in her chair, frequently crying for no reason. When she did get out, she was often winded, even from a walk up a sidewalk to deliver cupcakes to her grandchild's classroom.

A couple of months after she got home she called Mended Hearts, a group affiliated with the heart association that provides support to heart patients, and talked to someone who let her know depression was common in heart patients.

Her family doctor sent her to a psychologist, and after some initial reluctance, she started taking an antidepressant. That, along with starting a walking routine, improved her outlook.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT