Therapy of depression in cardiometabolic diseases

In clinical practice depression is commonly associated with other cardiometabolic diseases. Partly this causes a negative impact like an increased mortality after stroke or myocardial infarction. Pathophysiologically there are different links between depression and the associated cardiometabolic disease. Next to psychotherapy, which plays an essential role in treating depression, this offers the opportunity to positively influence depression and the associated cardiometabolic disease in parallel with a single drug. With regard to the literature it seems that treating a patient with depression and a co morbid disease like diabetes type II, myocardial infarction or stroke SSRI provide an advantage by a positive, partly synergistic, impact on both diseases and can be recommended for treatment unless specific side effects like QT prolongation prevent their use.