According to a study by researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Treating anxiety and depression significantly reduced emergency room visits and rehospitalizations among people with heart disease.
For patients hospitalized for coronary artery disease or heart failure and who had diagnoses of anxiety or depression, treatment with psychotherapy, medication or both was associated with as much as a 75% reduction in hospitalizations or emergency room visits. In some cases, there was a reduction in death.
Philip Binkley, lead study author, MD, executive vice chair of the department of internal medicine and emeritus professor of internal medicine
Binkley said anxiety and depression are common in people with heart failure, and mental health can have a major impact on a person’s risk of other health conditions, disability, and death. The study was published on March 20, 2024, in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
“This may be the first study to show that treating anxiety and depression with medication or psychotherapy has a significant impact on heart disease outcomes,” said first author Cheryl Carmin, PhD, a psychologist and director of behavioral cardiology services at the Wexner Medical Center, and clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral health at the College of Medicine.
Binkley and colleagues examined whether talk therapy and antidepressant medications improved heart outcomes. Among their findings:
For people who received both medication and talk therapy for anxiety or depression; the risk of hospitalization dropped 68 – 75%; the risk of being seen in the emergency department fell 67 – 74%, and the risk of death from any cause was reduced by about 67%.
Talk therapy alone cut the risk of hospital readmission nearly in half (46 – 49%) and led to a similar reduction in emergency room visits (48 – 53%).
Medication treatment alone reduced hospital readmission by up to 58% and reduced ER visits by up to 49%.
“Heart disease and anxiety/depression interact such that each promotes the other,” Binkley said.
There appear to be mental processes that link heart disease with anxiety and depression that are currently under investigation. Both heart disease and anxiety/depression are associated with activation of the sympathetic nervous system. This is part of the so-called involuntary nervous system that increases heart rate, blood pressure and can also contribute to anxiety and depression.
Binkley hopes the study’s results will motivate cardiologists and health care professionals to screen routinely for depression and anxiety.
“A collaborative care model is essential to manage cardiovascular and mental health. Hopefully these findings inspire additional research regarding the mechanistic connections between mental health and heart disease,” he said.
(Newswise/AP)
