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Patients with heart disease who are diagnosed with depression are at greater risk of heart failure, new research suggests.

The study, due to be published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, also found that taking antidepressant medication did not reduce this risk.

People with depression and coronary artery disease (CAD) were twice as likely to suffer from heart failure – a condition where the heart cannot pump enough blood around the body.

Dr Heidi May, epidemiologist at the Intermountain Medical Center in Utah, said the findings show that depression is an important and emerging risk factor for heart failure in patients with CAD.

"It may be important for clinicians to keep in mind that although a patient’s depressive symptoms may improve, the risk for harmful cardiovascular outcomes related to depression might not," she added.

CAD kills more than 110,000 people in the UK every year, making it the nation’s biggest killer.

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with heart conditions.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 at 7:00 pm and is filed under Heart.