Depression/anxiety increases heart risk

Canadian researchers said major anxiety or depression can double a coronary artery disease patient's chances of repeated heart ailments.

Principal investigator Nancy Frasure-Smith, a professor at McGill University in Montreal said she found both major depression and generalized anxiety disorder were more common in cardiac patients than in the general community.

Frasure-Smith and Francois Lesperance of the University of Montreal interviewed 804 patients with stable coronary artery disease who were monitored by a physician yet had been discharged from hospital two months prior.

The researchers found 27 percent of interview subjects were affected by depression and 41 percent showed signs of anxiety. Major depressive disorder was diagnosed in roughly 7 percent of patients while about 5 percent had generalized anxiety disorder.

Read More