All you have to do is call; a pilot study to improve the outcomes of patients with coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: Studies have identified prevalence rates of major depression in patients with cardiovascular disease to range from 16% to 23%, whereas 65% of patients report some symptoms after a myocardial event. Depression has been shown to be strongly related to overall poorer outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the potential benefit of providing follow-up information regarding mental health resources to patients who had undergone cardiac catheterization and had reported significant levels of depression symptoms. Two methods of providing this follow-up information (personal telephone interaction and mailed-out written information) were compared.

METHODS: As part of the Alberta Provincial Project for Outcome Assessment in Coronary Heart Disease registry, patients completed baseline questionnaires, including the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale. Patients reporting a score of 10 or higher were randomly assigned to one of three groups. Group A patients were contacted by mail, whereas Group B patients were contacted through a telephone follow-up call by a nurse. Both groups received information regarding community- and hospital-based mental health resources. Six weeks after the initial contact, patients in Groups A and B and those in a third control group (Group C) were called and asked to complete a repeat CES-D via telephone interview. Logistic regression modeling was used to determine the influence of the intervention on the change in depression scores from baseline to 6 weeks.

RESULTS: Ninety-eight respondents had both baseline and 6-week CES-D scores. The mean age of the respondents was 64.9 years, and women constituted 27% of the sample. There was no statistically significant clinical difference between the three groups. Regression analysis demonstrated that patients who were contacted by either telephone or mail were significantly more likely to report improvement in the CES-D scores (odds ratio = 3.03, p = .03) as compared with the control group. Furthermore, respondents who were phoned reported the highest percentage of improved CES-D scores as compared with the mailed and control groups.

CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study demonstrated that early recognition strategies and referral protocols that address mental health needs are effective in decreasing the reported depressive symptomatology of this high-risk population. Proactively addressing mental health issues as an integral part of the overall treatment with patients with coronary artery disease could potentially improve the health outcomes in this population.