ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The effect of anxiety and depression on patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) warrants investigation, especially during periods of economic crisis. AIM: To investigate the relation between anxiety and depression in patients presenting with ACS due to financial crisis and to investigate whether these two entities could predict long-term cardiovascular mortality. METHODS AND RESULTS: Anxiety and depression symptoms were assessed in 350 patients (210 men) presenting with ACS, with 70 (20%) patients showing elevated scores (Hellenic Heart Failure Protocol). Over a mean follow-up of 48 months there were 36 (10%) cardiovascular deaths. Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for other prognostic factors (including age, sex, marital status, creatinine levels, left ventricular ejection fraction, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, previous hospitalisation, and baseline medications) showed that elevated anxiety and depression scores significantly predicted cardiovascular mortality (primary outcome) and all-cause mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated anxiety and depression symptoms are related to cardiovascular mortality due probably to financial crisis, even after adjustment for other prognostic indicators in patients with ACS, who received optimised medical treatment.