Depression ‘could be treated as a coronary heart disease risk factor’

US scientists have determined that treating depressive symptoms among coronary heart disease sufferers can have a beneficial effect on their overall health prospects.

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) has completed a randomised controlled trial with 150 patients with elevated depressive symptoms two to six months after hospitalisation for heart disease.

The study showed that offering treatment to patients for depression helped to mitigate the markedly increased risk of death or another heart attack that this group normally experiences, while also being cost-effective and reducing medical risk.

Dr Karina Davidson, director of the centre for behavioural cardiovascular health at CUMC, said: "With these results, which will help us understand what we can do to relieve the suffering of those who experience both disabling problems, we can now propose a large, national trial more effectively and efficiently."

Coronary heart disease is the UK's biggest killer, with NHS data showing it causes around 82,000 deaths each year – equivalent to one in five fatalities among men and one in eight for women.