J. Heuser
19. June 2006
Myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries is a working diagnosis for several heart disorders. Previous studies on anxiety and depression in patients with myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries are lacking. Our aim was to investigate the prevalence of anxiety and depression among patients with myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries.
Methods
We included 99 patients with myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries together with age- and sex-matched control groups who completed the Beck Depression Inventory and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) 3 months after the acute event.
Results
Using the Beck Depression Inventory, we found that the prevalence of depression in patients with myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (35%) was higher than in healthy controls (9%; P = .006) and similar to that of patients with coronary heart disease (30%; P = .954). Using the HADS anxiety subscale, we found that the prevalence of anxiety in patients with myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (27%) was higher than in healthy controls (9%; P = .002) and similar to that of patients with coronary heart disease (21%; P = .409). Using the HADS depression subscale, we found that the prevalence of depression in patients with myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (17%) was higher than in healthy controls (4%; P = .003) and similar to that of patients with coronary heart disease (13%; P = .466). Patients with myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries and takotsubo syndrome scored higher on the HADS anxiety subscale than those without (P = .028).
Conclusions
This is the first study on the mental health of patients with myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries to show that prevalence rates of anxiety and depression are similar to those in patients with coronary heart disease.
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-Maria Daniel, MD, Stefan Agewall, PhD, Felix Berglund, A Medicine Medical Student, Kenneth Caidahl, PhD, Olov Collste, PhD, Christina Ekenbäck, MD, Mats Frick, PhD, Loghman Henareh, PhD, Tomas Jernberg, PhD, Karin Malmqvist, PhD, Karin Schenck-Gustafsson, PhD, Jonas Spaak, PhD, Örjan Sundin, PhD, Peder Sörensson, PhD, Shams Y-Hassan, MD, Claes Hofman-Bang, PhD, Per Tornvall, PhD
This article originally appeared in the September issue of The American Journal of Medicine.
