Considerations of depression as risk factor in cardiovascular patients

Studies have found a strong association between depressive symptoms and major depression and cardiac morbidity and mortality increased after acute coronary syndrome (ACS); however it has also been reported evidence against this association. This difference in results may explain why depression has not yet been accepted by the American Heart Association as a risk factor for poor prognosis in patients with CVD. In this article depression is discussed as a risk factor of poor prognosis in patients who have had ACS and the factors that may influence the divergence of results in the studies. Our conclusions show that depression is related with a worse prognosis in ACS patients specifically when the symptomatology occurred after the event or when it is a treatment-resistant disorder. Cognitive and somatic symptoms and also comorbid anxiety are bad prognosis indicators.