The American Heart Association has issued new guidelines recommending that all patients with heart disease should be routinely screened for depression.

Numerous studies have shown that depression is more prevalent in people with coronary heart disease than it is in the general population. For example, depression is three times more common among people who have recently had a heart attack – 15-20% of heart attack patients meet diagnostic criteria for major depression, and even more patients have an elevated level of depressive symptoms. Furthermore, research has shown that depression increases the risk of further/recurrent cardiovascular morbidity, whilst also increasing the risk of cardiovascular mortality.   Read More...