Women are more likely than men to develop anxiety and depression following a heart attack, new research suggests.

The World Health Organization predicts that by 2020, depression will be the second leading cause of disability and mortality worldwide, the first being heart disease.

According to Prof Pranas Serpytis from Lithuania, who presented this new research at the annual meeting of the Acute Cardiovascular Care Association in Switzerland, major depression follows a heart attack in almost one in five cases and is therefore ‘an important predictor of disability and poor quality of life in the year post-heart attack'.

"Patients with depression are nearly six times more likely to die within six months after a heart attack than those without depression. The increased risk of death in patients with depression persists up to 18 months after the heart attack. But despite the fact that post-heart attack depression is common and burdensome, the condition remains under-recognised and undertreated," he noted.

He and his colleagues set out to investigate the impact of gender and heart risk factors on the risk of developing anxiety and depression after a heart attack.

They looked at 160 patients who had been admitted to hospital following a heart attack. All were assessed for anxiety and depression.

The researchers found that overall, one in four of the patients was depressed. However, they also found that ‘women were more likely to develop anxiety and depression after a heart attack than men'.

"Women are misrepresented in many clinical studies on heart attack even though they often have worse outcomes. Our study shows that women are more likely to develop anxiety and depression after a heart attack than men, but until now this issue has been largely unnoticed. Clinicians should assess heart attack patients, particularly women, for anxiety and depression so that timely treatment can be started," Prof Serpytis said.

Meanwhile, the study also suggested a link between anxiety and smoking. Smokers were found to have, on average, higher anxiety scores than non-smokers.

"Current smokers were more likely to have anxiety after a heart attack than never smokers or people who had quit smoking more than two years ago. We did not find any association between smoking and depression after a heart attack," Prof Serpytis noted.

Patients who were physically inactive were also more likely to be depressed.

"Our study suggests that encouraging patients to quit smoking and increase their physical activity levels should reduce their risks of anxiety and depression after a heart attack. More research is needed on the links between heart attack and mental health problems," Prof Serpytis added.

The Acute Cardiovascular Care Association is part of the European Society of Cardiology.

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