Study indicates anxiety, depression may increase incidence of angina.

HealthDay (6/29, Edelson) reported that, according to a study published online June 29 in the journal Circulation, “anxiety and depression can increase the incidence of angina.” For the study, a team led by Mark Sullivan, MD, PhD, of the University of Washington, followed “191 people with known ischemia who underwent stress testing and heart imaging. They found that 36 percent reported no angina in the previous month, with 35 percent reporting monthly incidents.” Of the group “who had daily or weekly angina, psychological assessments, including a self-reporting anxiety and depression questionnaire, showed that 44 percent had significant anxiety and two-thirds had significant depression.” It remained unclear “whether the psychological problems were heightening the effect of angina or vice versa,” but Dr. Sullivan said that “physicians treating people with angina can use ‘fairly simple screening tests’ to determine the presence of anxiety or depression and treat those conditions, if necessary.”

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