Screening Heart Patients for Depression Not Effective, Says Study

In a study which appeared in the November 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers questioned the American Heart Association's recent suggestion that heart patients be automatically screened for depression.

Dr. Brett Thombs, of McGill and the affiliated Jewish General Hospital, and Dr. Roy Ziegelstein, of Johns Hopkins, said there was not enough evidence to support this "massive, expensive and labor-intensive undertaking." The doctors then went even further and presented evidence that depression testing would not benefit heart patients.

The 17 studies which were reviewed in their study were selected from more than 1,500 clinical studies from around the globe.

The researchers found that treating depression in heart disease patients accounted for only a 1-4% change in symptoms, compared to those given a placebo. This result, said Ziegelstein, is "too low to expect meaningful benefits for most people, particularly since screening methods are not very precise in identifying people who would benefit from treatment."

"Moreover, we found no connection at all between getting treated for depression and cardiovascular outcomes, like having a subsequent heart attack," said Thombs.

"That said," he added, "in no sense are we saying that depression doesn't matter. Depression leads to a great deal of suffering, cardiovascular effects aside, and it can definitely affect how people take care of themselves after they've had a heart attack. We're just saying we don't have the tools in cardiovascular care settings to identify and improve the lives of people who aren't already being treated for depression.