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VIEWPOINT AND COMMENTARY

To Screen or Not to Screen?

Depression in Patients With Cardiovascular Disease

Veterans Affairs Medical Center and University of California, San Francisco, California

Manuscript received May 2, 2009; accepted May 5, 2009.

^_* Reprint requests and correspondence: Dr. Mary A. Whooley, VA Medical Center and University of California, San Francisco, 4150 Clement Street, San Francisco, California 94121 (Email: mary.whooley{at}ucsf.edu).

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.

Key Words: depression • cardiovascular disease • screening

Abbreviations and Acronyms   AHA = American Heart Association   CVD = cardiovascular disease

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J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 2009 54: A29. [Full Text] [PDF]