Arch Gen Psychiat
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Heart rate variability in acute coronary syndrome patients with major depression: influence of sertraline and mood improvement.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) associated with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) increases the risk of mortality. Decreased heart rate variability (HRV), also a predictor of mortality, is reduced in patients with MDD after ACS, and has been suggested to be a mediator of MDD mortality after ACS. Although selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors may reduce mortality post-ACS, little is known about their effects on HRV. ⋯ Heart rate variability recovery is impaired in depressed patients after ACS. Previously reported differences in baseline HRV between patients with and without depression after ACS grew larger in the 16 weeks following a coronary event. Both sertraline treatment and symptomatic recovery from depression were associated with increased HRV compared with placebo-treated and nonrecovered post-ACS control groups, respectively, but this results primarily from decreased HRV in the comparison groups.