2012 Articles

The Effect of Enhanced Depression Care on Anxiety Symptoms in Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients: Findings from the COPES Trial

Kronish, Ian M.; Chaplin, William F.; Rieckmann, Nina; Burg, Matthew M.; Davidson, Karina W.

Similar to depression, anxiety is common after acute coronary syndromes (ACS), and is an independent predictor of worse outcomes [1,2,3]. Yet, post-ACS psychological interventions have focused on treating depression. We previously reported that an enhanced depression care intervention involving patient preference for problem-solving therapy (PST), antidepressant medications, or both followed by stepped care according to treatment response was effective at reducing depressive symptoms after ACS with an effect size of 0.59 SD [4]. We report here the independent effect of this intervention on anxiety.