PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Carney, Robert M.
AU  - Freedland, Kenneth E.
TI  - Depression and heart rate variability in patients with coronary heart disease
AID  - 10.3949/ccjm.76.s2.03
DP  - 2009 Feb 01
TA  - Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine
PG  - S13--S17
VI  - 76
IP  - 4 suppl 2
4099  - http://www.ccjm.org/content/76/4_suppl_2/S13.short
4100  - http://www.ccjm.org/content/76/4_suppl_2/S13.full
SO  - Cleve Clin J Med2009 Feb 01; 76
AB  - Depression is common in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and is a risk factor for cardiac morbidity and mortality in these patients. Depression is associated with autonomic nervous system dysfunction, which may at least partially explain this increased risk. Low heart rate variability (HRV), which reflects excessive sympathetic and/or inadequate parasympathetic modulation of heart rate, is a strong predictor of mortality in patients with CHD. Most studies—both in patients with stable CHD and in patients with a recent acute coronary event—have found HRV to be lower in depressed patients than in their nondepressed counterparts. This manuscript provides an overview of this literature and concludes that HRV may account for a substantial part of the risk associated with depression in CHD.