Prevalence and patterns of depression among post myocardial infarction patients attending a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Background: Depression often affects the clinical outcome of Myocardial Infarction. Depression reduces the recovery rate of the individual and often deteriorates the condition. Knowledge regarding the prevalence of depression after myocardial infarction is necessary for treatment purposes. The present study is aimed to know prevalence and patterns of depression among post myocardial infarction patients.
Materials and methods: A cross sectional study was done on 50 patients who suffered from myocardial infarction at tertiary care hospital, Guntur. A socio demographic chart along with Zung’s depression inventory was used to collect the data from the individual patient.
Results: In our study, sample comprised of 27 (54%) male patients and 23 (46%) female patients. Symptoms for depression was observed 18 (36%) of the patients. Out of 50 patients 16 (32%) were in the group of mild depression and 2 (4%) patients were in the group of moderate depression, according to Zung’s Self Rating Depression Scale.
Conclusion: Depression is common among post myocardial infarction patients. Identifying the symptoms of depression and proper treatment will help the patient to improve the treatment outcome of Myocardial Infarction. So it will help in overall improvement of their quality of life.

Keywords: Depression, Myocardial infarction, Tertiary care hospital, Zung’s Self Rating Depression Scale.