NCT02226770.

No abstract

Cardiovascular conditions associated with pregnancy are serious complications. In general, depression is a well-known risk indicator for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Mental distress and depression are associated with physiological responses such as inflammation and oxidative stress. Both inflammation and oxidative stress have been implicated in the pathophysiology of CVDs associated with pregnancy. This article discusses whether depression could represent a risk indicator for CVDs in pregnancy, in particular in pre-eclampsia and peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM).

BackgroundHeart-focused anxiety (HFA) raises the risk for adverse outcomes in patients with heart disease. Despite this great importance, it is rarely assessed in clinical practice. Three dimensions are commonly defined in the context of HFA: heart-related fear, avoidance, and attention. The impact of these aspects on cardiac risk factors is essentially unclear. In this study, we investigated the relationship between HFA and behavioral cardiac risk factors as well as health-related quality of life (HRQoL), which represent important treatment outcomes of inpatient psycho-cardiological rehabilitation.MethodsA prospective observational design was used to examine 238 rehabilitation inpatients with comorbidity of cardiac disease and psychiatric disorder. We assessed HFA using the Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ), HRQoL using the SF-12 Health Survey, exercise capacity using the 6-minute walk test, and smoking behavior, respectively at admission (t0) and discharge (t1). Physical activity was assessed at t0 and in a follow-up survey 6 months after discharge (t2) using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Multiple regression models were used to analyze the predictive value of HFA for the outcome variables at t0, t1, and t2, adjusted for socio-demographic factors and depression. Predictive values for changes over time were evaluated by the regressor variable approach.ResultsExercise capacity and physical activity were negatively predicted by baseline heart-related avoidance, both cross-sectionally and prospectively. Avoidance at t1 also negatively predicted long-term changes over time in physical activity at t2. Total HFA and the subcomponent avoidance negatively predicted physical HRQoL both cross-sectionally and prospectively. Mental HRQoL was cross-sectionally predicted by heart-focused attention at t0, and prospectively predicted by total HFA and by avoidance. Regarding changes in the course of rehabilitation, baseline avoidance negatively predicted improvement in physical HRQoL during rehabilitation. Concerning smoking behavior, no associations with HFA were found.ConclusionsHFA is a relevant inhibiting factor for the achievement of therapy goals in psycho-cardiological rehabilitation such as health behavior and HRQoL. Heart-related avoidance in particular, has a negative impact on exercise capacity, physical activity, and self-reported physical health. Its prospective negative predictive value for physical activity and physical health underlines the relevance of HFA for psycho-cardiological interventions.

Renal denervation has been shown to reduce blood pressure in patients with uncontrolled hypertension, but less is known about its impact on quality of life. This analysis evaluated 12‐month blood pressure and quality of life outcomes in 934 patients from the Global SYMPLICITY Registry who completed the EuroQoL five‐dimensions three‐level questionnaire (EQ‐5D‐3L). At baseline, 32% of patients reported anxiety/depression and 48% reported pain/discomfort. At 12 months (n=496), office and 24‐hour ambulatory systolic blood pressure were reduced by 13.9±26.6 and 7.7±19.3 mm Hg, respectively, and 8% (P<.001) more patients reported no problems in anxiety/depression. Furthermore, numerically more patients reported no problems in pain/discomfort (4%, P=.08). Perceived health‐related quality of life (visual analog scale) improved from baseline to 12 months (68±18 vs 73±17, P<.001), and the improvement was largest among patients with severe anxiety/depression at baseline (50±24 vs 64±22, P=.005 [n=32]). In this analysis, renal denervation was associated with a significant improvement in health‐related quality of life, particularly anxiety/depression.

AimsThe Anxiety-CHF (Anxiety in patients with Chronic Heart Failure) study investigated heart-focused anxiety (HFA, with the dimensions fear, attention, and avoidance of physical activity), general anxiety, depression, and quality of life (QoL) in patients with heart failure. Psychological measures were assessed before and up to 2 years after the implantation of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) with or without cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator (CRT-D). Methods and results One hundred thirty-two patients were enrolled in this monocentric prospective study (44/88 CRT-D/ ICD, mean age 61 ± 14 years, mean left ventricular ejection fraction 31 ± 9%, and 29% women). Psychological assessment was performed before device implantation as well as after 5, 12, and 24 months. After device implantation, mean total HFA, HFA-fear, HFA-attention, general anxiety, and QoL improved significantly. Depression and HFA-related avoidance of physical activity did not change. CRT-D patients compared with ICD recipients and women compared with men reported worse QoL at baseline. Younger patients (

(1) Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with anxiety, depression, and chronic stress, and vice versa. The purpose of this study was to evaluate potential effects of pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) on psychological factors. (2) Methods: Psychological assessment was performed before PVI as well as after six months. (3) Results: A total of 118 patients [age 64 ± 9 years, 69% male, left ventricular ejection fraction 57 ± 8%, 56% paroxysmal AF] undergoing PVI were included. After PVI, significant improvements were observed in the mean total heart-focused anxiety (HFA) score, as well as in the Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ) sub-scores: HFA attention, HFA fear, and HFA avoidance scores. Subgroup analyses showed an association of improvement with freedom of documented AF recurrence. Mean scores of general anxiety and depression evaluated by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) decreased significantly after PVI in all subgroups regardless of AF recurrence. Further, both physical and mental composite scores of the Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) increased significantly from baseline. (4) Conclusions: PVI results in a significant reduction in HFA. Improvements in general anxiety and depressive symptoms did not seem to be related only to rhythm control per se. Therefore, CAQ may represent a more specific evaluation tool as HADS in patients with AF.

No abstract