“For patients hospitalized with coronary artery disease or heart failure and diagnosed with anxiety or depression, treatment with psychotherapy, medication, or both reduced hospitalizations or emergency department visits by as much as 75%. In some cases. and decreased deaths,” said study lead author Philip Binkley, M.D., vice chair of internal medicine and professor emeritus of internal medicine and public health at The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.

“This may be the first study to show that treating anxiety or depression with pharmacotherapy or psychotherapy has a significant impact on heart disease outcomes,” said lead author, psychologist and Wexner Medical Center said Dr. Cheryl Karmin, director of behavioral cardiology services at . Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health in the School of Medicine.

Binkley and colleagues investigated whether talk therapy and antidepressants improved cardiac outcomes. Among their discoveries are:

• For people who have received both medication and talk therapy for anxiety or depression. The risk of hospitalization was reduced by 68-75%. The risk of emergency department visits was reduced by 67 to 74 percent, and the risk of death from any cause was reduced by approximately 67 percent.
• Talk therapy alone reduced the risk of readmission by almost half (46 to 49%), and emergency department visits were similarly reduced (48 to 53%).
• Medication alone reduced readmissions by up to 58% and ER visits by up to 49%.

“Heart disease and anxiety/depression interact, and each promotes the other,” Binkley says. “There appears to be a mental process that links heart disease to anxiety and depression, which is currently being investigated. Heart disease and anxiety/depression are both associated with activation of the sympathetic nervous system. This is a so-called involuntary It is part of the nervous system and can increase heart rate and blood pressure, which can also contribute to anxiety and depression.”

“A collaborative care model is essential to managing cardiovascular and mental health. We hope these findings will spur further research into the relationship between mental health and heart disease mechanisms.” he stated.

Research content and background

• 1,563 adults aged 22 to 64 years were enrolled over a 3-year period. All participants had been hospitalized for the first time with artery blockage or heart failure and had claimed health insurance more than once for anxiety or depression.
• It was noted that 68% were female and 81% were white. 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. Nearly 15% received only psychotherapy. 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.

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