Treating anxiety and depression reduces emergency department visits and hospital readmissions in heart patients, a new study published today in the journal Nature shows. American Heart Association Journal.

“For patients admitted with coronary artery disease or heart failure and diagnosed with anxiety or depression, treatment with psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy, or a combination of both can reduce hospitalizations and emergency room visits by as much as 75%. I did.Visit.

In some cases, deaths were reduced,” said study lead author Philip Binkley, MD, MPH, associate chair of internal medicine and professor emeritus of internal medicine and public health at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. .

Dr. Binkley noted that anxiety and depression are common in heart failure patients, and that mental health can have a significant impact on an individual’s risk of other health conditions, disability, and death.

In this study, Binkley et al. found that antidepressants, psychotherapy (also called talk therapy or a combination of the two), and mental health treatment were associated with emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and deaths in people with blocked arteries or hearts. We investigated the relationship between If you fail and are formally diagnosed with anxiety or depression before admission.

The analysis used three different statistical models that adjusted for a variety of variables and found that patients were compared to patients who were not treated for anxiety or depression.

• For people who received both medication and talk therapy for anxiety and depression, the risk of hospitalization was reduced by 68% to 75%, the risk of emergency department visits was reduced by 67% to 74%, and The risk of death was reduced by 68% to 75%. Any cause he decreased from 65% to 67%.
• Psychotherapy treatment alone reduced the risk of readmission by 46% to 49% and emergency department visits by 48% to 53%.
• Medication treatment alone reduced readmissions by 47% to 58% and ER visits by 41% to 49%.
• The follow-up period varied depending on each patient’s needs.

“Heart disease and anxiety/depression interact, and each promotes the other,” Binkley says.

“There appears to be a psychological mechanism linking heart disease with anxiety and depression that is currently being investigated. Heart disease and anxiety/depression are both associated with activation of the sympathetic nervous system, which is called It’s part of the involuntary nervous system.” It increases heart rate and blood pressure and can also contribute to anxiety and depression. ”

Professor Binkley believes the strength of the study lies in the high number of people with heart disease, the marked reduction in hospital admissions and emergency department visits, and the reduction in deaths.

“Our findings encourage cardiologists and other healthcare professionals to routinely screen for depression and anxiety, and demonstrate that collaborative care models are essential for managing cardiovascular disease and mental health. “We hope that these findings will inspire further research into the mechanisms underlying the link between mental health and heart disease,” he said.

Research details and background:

• The study included 1,563 adults between the ages of 22 and 64 over a three-year period, all of whom had been hospitalized for the first time with blocked arteries or heart failure and had made at least two health insurance claims for anxiety or depression.
• It was noted that 68% of participants were female and 81% were Caucasian. All had been enrolled in Ohio’s Medicaid program for 6 months prior to hospitalization. The health data he received came from two sources. Ohio Medicaid claims and Ohio death certificate files from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2012.
• Participants were followed until the end of 2014 or until death or termination of Medicaid enrollment.
• Approximately 23% of participants received both antidepressants and psychotherapy. Almost 15% received psychotherapy only. 29% took antidepressants only. and 33% did not receive mental health treatment.
• Approximately 92% of study participants had been diagnosed with anxiety and 55.5% with depression before admission.

This study was limited to people with Medicaid and may not be representative of people with commercial health insurance plans. Additionally, it was noted that the majority of participants were Caucasian, so these findings may not apply to people of other races, ethnicities, or communities.