Depression and anxiety in a cardiovascular outpatient clinic: A descriptive study

Objective: cardiac diseases are psycho-somatic disorders,and psychological aspects play an essential role in their initiation and exacerbation. the aim of this study was to gain appropriate knowledge in the epidemiology of co-morbid depression and anxiety disorder in cardiovascular outpatients. method: this study is descriptive with a sample of patients attending a cardio-vascular clinic. 238 individuals were included in this study using a consecutive sampling method. the study instrument was hospital anxiety and depression scale (hads) questionnaire,which is a clinical scale for assessing anxiety and depression. results: of the 238 participants in this study,93(38.7%) were male and 146 (61.3%) female. 28.5% of patients suffered from anxiety disorders,and 41.9% had depression. regarding comorbid diseases such as diabetes mellitus,hyperlipidemia and hypertension,the severity of depression was just related to hypertension. there was a meaningful relationship between gender and symptoms of anxiety so that symptoms were more severe in women. conclusion: considering the high prevalence of depression and anxiety in patients suffering from cardio-vascular diseases,it is necessary to screen psychological disorders in patients with cardio-vascular diseases and improve their cardio-vascular health and quality of life as mush as possible.