Heart patients have a significantly increased risk of dying or suffering a heart attack if they are stressed and very depressed, a new study has found.

According to US researchers, previous studies have tended to only consider the impact of depression on heart patients, however the presence of these two conditions in such patients represents a ‘psychosocial perfect storm'.

They looked at almost 4,500 heart disease patients who were aged 45 or older. The participants were monitored for stress and depression over a six-year period, during which time around 6% were found to be both stressed and highly depressed.

The study found that the combination of stress and high depression greatly increased the participants' risk of suffering a heart attack or dying. In fact, the short-term risk of death or a heart attack jumped by almost 50% among those who were stressed and very depressed compared to those whose stress and depressive symptoms were low.

The researchers found that the risk of death or a heart attack did not increase significantly if the person only suffered from stress or only suffered from depression. However, when both conditions occurred together, the risk increased greatly.

"The increase in risk accompanying high stress and high depressive symptoms was robust and consistent across demographics, medical history, medication use and health risk behaviors," commented the study's lead author, Dr Carmela Alcántara, of the Columbia University Medical Center for Behavioral Cardiovascular Health in New York.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

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