Journal of Depression and Anxiety
Open Access

Abstract

Six Months Post Myocardial Infarction Depression: Is Acute PTSD a Predisposing Condition?

Christophe Fortin, Gilles Dupuis, Andr Marchand and Bianca D Antono

Background: Depression has been recognized has one of the most critical psychological issues following a Myocardial Infarction (MI), its presence associated with readmissions and death, augments healthcare costs and increases utilisation of services. For theoretical and clinical reasons,  Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) should be considered as a predisposing psychological condition for depression. However, its impact on depression’s intensity and presence 6 months after a MI has not been clearly assess.
Methods: Out of the 870 eligible patients in three Canadian hospitals, 339 completed the research protocol. Patients completed a depression (BDI-II) and a PTSD (MPSS-SR) inventory 48 hours to 14 days post MI to assess the prevalence both disorders. They again completed the BDI-II six months after their MI to investigate the predisposing effect of PTSD on depression.
Results: Based on the symptomatology cut-off point of their respective measurement instruments, the prevalence of comorbid PTSD-depression was 11.5%. Patients with PTSD symptomatology one month post-MI report high level of depression symptomatology 6 months after the MI. The level of depression at 6 months for comorbid patients was not different from the depressed or traumatized patients’ level at 1 month.
Conclusion: The results suggest that the presence of PTSD symptomatology at 1 month is a  predisposing condition for the development of depression and its evaluation in a post MI investigation routine is recommended.