M. CIAMPELLI, F. COSCI, M. LAI, L. LAMPRONTI, S. LASSI, B. LO IACONO, C. RAVALDI, C. FARAVELLI - Vol. 9, December 2003, Issue 4
Testo Bibliografia Summary Indice
Affective and anxiety disorders comorbid with
heart disease: a review
Comorbilità tra malattia cardiaca e disturbi affettivi e d’ansia:
breve revisione della letteratura
Objective
To review the state of the art on research about heart and affective and anxiety
disease to show possible new directions in research.
Method
A literature search is carried out in MEDLINE about heart disease and psychiatric
disorders. The attention has been focused on major depression, bipolar disorder,
generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder with and without agoraphobia,
social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder.
Conclusions
Anxiety and affective disorders seem common in patients with a cardiovascular
disease, but the results are contradictory and not exaustive about the underlying
mechanism of such a comorbidity. Cardiovascular diseases occurring after a
psychiatric disorder and the corresponding relationship have not been well
investigated, excepted for the evaluation of role of the autonomic system
dysregulation in both anxiety and affective disorders. Anxiety disorders,
and particularly panic disorder, are independent risk factors for cardiovascular
disease and death.
Further investigations are necessary to improve the knowledge about the relationship
between medical and psychiatric illnesses.