Coronary artery disease and experiences of losses.

BACKGROUND In literature, depression is associated with cardiovascular diseases. From clinical experience, we observed that the psychological category 'experience of loss' was associated with the onset and development of coronary heart disease. The experience of loss caused by self-reported significant event(s) leads to grief and the psychosocial factors which predispose the patient to diseases. OBJECTIVE To study the impact of the experience of loss by investigating the relationship between mourning and depression, in hospitalized patients with coronary heart disease. METHODS 44 inpatients (50% men and 50% women, aged 33 to 65 years), with a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction or angina, were evaluated. Two instruments were used: a semi-structured interview, for investigating the experience of loss and evaluating the state of grief; and the Beck Depression Inventory, for measuring the severity of depression. The results were expressed using the computer program Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 11.0. RESULTS 66% of the patients were in mourning, the relationship between mourning and depression was significant (p<0,05), and we verified that 100% of the patients who had serious depression were in mourning. The most frequent self-reported significant event was death of a family member (47%) and death of a close person (13%), totaling 60% of the events, reported by 84% of the participants. According to the results of Beck Depression Inventory, 48% of them had depression. CONCLUSION This study suggests that the psychological category 'experience of loss' should be used as an indicator of the existence of psychological factors that could predispose the patient to CAD, and also confirms the relationship between a state of mourning and depression.