From Our 2011 Archives Collaborative Care for Depression Has
Heart Benefit Latest Heart News Study Shows Improvement in Heart
Disease Symptoms for Patients With Depression By Matt McMillen
Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD In collaborative care, a non-
physician care manager coordinates a patient's care with both a
primary doctor and a psychiatrist. The care manager also
educates the patient about depression, treatment options, and
depression's effects on heart disease. He or she also follows up
with the patient to assess how well the patient is doing and
whether the patient is sticking to the prescribed treatment. In
this six-month study, published in Circulation: Cardiovascular
Quality and Outcomes, researchers followed 175 heart disease
patients who had also been diagnosed with depression. The
treatment the participants received began while they were still
in the hospital, where they had been admitted for an abnormal
heart rhythm, unstable angina, heart attack, or heart failure.
According to the researchers,