Does Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) improve heart rate and heart rate variability in depressed patients with coronary heart disease?
Treating depression with CBT may beneficially modify heart rate and HRV, which are risk factors for mortality in patients with coronary heart disease.
The results suggest that treating depression with CBT may reduce heart rate and increase short-term HRV. Thus, CBT may have a beneficial effect on a risk factor for mortality in depressed patients with coronary heart disease. A randomized, controlled study is needed to confirm these findings.
Carney et al. (2000) studied this question.