Depression Before A Heart Surgery Can Increase Risk of Death

Older adults who are about to undergo a procedure to replace a damaged aortic valve of the heart tend to be depressed. It is also associated with a higher rate of death up to one year later. // Depression is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for adverse outcomes in cardiovascular disease. However, little is known about the effect of depression on older adults undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) because no large study has focused on mental health in this patient population.

Data from 1,035 adults 70 years or older who underwent TAVR or surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) between 2011-2016 was collected.

Symptoms of depression (exposure); death from any cause at one month and up to a year after TAVR or SAVR procedures (outcome) were assessed.

326 (31.5 percent) patients screened positive for depression, which was associated with an increased rate of death at one month and 12 months after the procedures.

Study Limitation: Testing with a formal psychiatric evaluation was not systematically done so there is a possibility of misclassification of depression status; the use of antidepressants and referral to psychiatric specialists also was not recorded.

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Source-Eurekalert