Effects of Antidepressant Medication on Morbidity and Mortality in Depressed Patients After Myocardial Infarction

Top Cited Papers
Open Access
Abstract
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death, major morbidity, and disability among men and women in the United States, with an estimated 6 million people having symptomatic coronary heart disease.1 The prevalence of major depression is about 20% in patients with a recent myocardial infarction (MI)2-4 and about the same for minor depression.3 In patients who experience an acute MI (AMI), depression is a risk factor for recurrent nonfatal infarction and cardiac mortality, independent of cardiac disease severity.5,6