Women More Prone to Post-Heart Attack Depression

New research finds that women are more likely than men to experience anxiety and depression following a heart attack.

In a study of 160 patients admitted with a myocardial infarction to the Vilnius University Hospital Santariskiu Clinics in Vilnius, Lithuania, researchers interviewed patients at least 1 month after the myocardial infarction to collect information on demographics, such as sex, age, education, and marital status.
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The investigators also gathered data on clinical characteristics, including incidence of diabetes mellitus, previous treatment for hypertension, and previous incidence of myocardial infarction, as well as other cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking and physical activity, and history of mental health issues.

The researchers assessed participants’ depression and anxiety using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), assigning a score of 0 to 7 to those experiencing no depression and anxiety; an 8 to 10 score for those possibly feeling depression and anxiety, and a score of 11+ for those showing mild to moderate levels of depression and anxiety symptoms.

The team found that nearly one quarter (24.4%) of the patients taking part in the study were depressed. Among this group—of whom 28.2% had received treatment with antidepressants—the average HADS score for depression was 6.87 in men and 8.66 in women. The mean anxiety score was 7.18 for men and 8.20 for women.

Authors also discovered a connection between anxiety and smoking. In the study, 15.6% of the participants were current smokers, with a mean HADS anxiety score of 10.16 for this group. Among the 77.5% of patients who had never smoked, the mean HADS anxiety score was 7.3%, while the 6.9% of patients who had quit smoking more than 2 years ago had a means HADS score of 4.55 for anxiety.

Up to 20% of individuals develop some level of depression after experiencing an acute myocardial infarction (AMI), says Pranas Serpytis, a professor at Vilnius University Hospital, and lead author of the study.

After an incidence of AMI, “it is essential to monitor the patient’s blood glusose, cholesterol level, blood pressure, physical activity, and the possible depression signs as well,” says Serpytis.

“If any signs of depression occur, general practitioners should consider referring [these] patients for psychologist or psychiatrist consultation,” he continues. While noting that further research in this area is needed, he notes that “it’s important to monitor certain risk groups, such as women, divorced individuals, and lonely people.”

The findings were originally presented at the annual meeting of the Acute Cardiovascular Care Association of the European Society of Cardiology, held Oct. 18 – 20 in Geneva, Switzerland.

—Mark McGraw