To screen or not to screen? Depression in patients with cardiovascular disease.
There is considerable controversy about whether patients with cardiovascular disease should be screened for depression. Depression is known to be associated with increased morbidity and mortality, but screening by itself does not improve either depression or cardiovascular outcomes. Nonetheless, depression deserves treatment regardless of its cardiovascular effects, and screening plus collaborative care is cost effective in primary care settings. Thus, patients with cardiovascular disease should receive routine screening for depression by primary care providers in the context of a collaborative care treatment program.
Whooley
Mary A
MA
Veterans Affairs Medical Center and University of California, San Francisco, California, USA. mary.whooley@ucsf.edu
D000572:American Heart Association; D002309:Cardiology / Q000458:organization & administration; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008605:Mental Health Services; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D014481:United States