title: Depression as a risk factor for adverse outcomes in coronary heart disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Depression is firmly established as an independent predictor of mortality and cardiac morbidity in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). However, it has been difficult to determine whether it is a causal risk factor, and whether treatment of depression can improve cardiac outcomes. In addition, research on biobehavioral mechanisms has not yet produced a definitive causal model of the relationship between depression and cardiac outcomes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Key challenges in this line of research concern the measurement of depression, the definition and relevance of certain subtypes of depression, the temporal relationship between depression and CHD, underlying biobehavioral mechanisms, and depression treatment efficacy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This article examines some of the methodological challenges that will have to be overcome in order to determine whether depression should be regarded as a key target of secondary prevention in CHD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 4320 Forest Park Avenue, St Louis, MO 63108, USA. freedlak@bmc.wustl.edu
authors.forename: Kenneth E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Freedland
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Carney
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology*; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors