Key result
Among cardiology patients with panic disorder and normal coronary arteries, 37.5% had a lifetime history of major depression, whereas only 6% reported phobic avoidance.
Cross-Sectional (n=32)
Major depression is common, but phobic avoidance is uncommon, in cardiology patients with panic disorder and normal coronary arteries.
May warrant depression screening in cardiology panic disorder; hypothesis-generating for low phobic avoidance rates.
Patients with panic disorder and/or agoraphobia appearing in psychiatric settings report rates for lifetime major depression between 24% and 91%. Between 40% and 90% of patients with panic disorder in psychiatric populations report concomitant agoraphobia. A recent study of panic disorder subjects appearing in an outpatient cardiology clinic confirmed the strong link between panic and depression but found only a weak association between panic disorder and agoraphobia. In order to test the reliability of these outpatient cardiology findings, the authors studied major depression and agoraphobia in patients with angiographically normal coronary arteries and panic disorder. Twelve of the 32 (37.5%) panic disorder subjects reported a lifetime history of major depression (nine current, three past only). Only two of the 32 (six percent) reported any phobic avoidance. This study confirms the previous findings which suggest that major depression is common in cardiology populations with panic disorder and that phobic avoidance is uncommon in this group.
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Beitman et al. (1990) conducted a cross-sectional in Angiographically normal coronary arteries and panic disorder (n=32). Panic disorder was evaluated on Lifetime history of major depression. Among cardiology patients with panic disorder and normal coronary arteries, 37.5% had a lifetime history of major depression, whereas only 6% reported phobic avoidance.
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