Several key health issues, including coronary disease, heart failure and congenital heart disease, can lead to battles with depression for patients as well, according to an Oct. 4 report from the American Medical Association.
Cardiology groups are now looking at patient care holistically, considering both the physical and mental impact of chronic illness.
Here are five things to know about cardiology and mental healthcare:
1. The American College of Cardiology recently partnered with BHI Collaborative, a group dedicated to catalyzing effective and sustainable integration of behavioral health care into physician practices.
2. The AMA established the BHI Collaborative with seven other physician organizations to remove obstacles to integrating behavioral and mental health care into primary care practices.
3. The collaborative now comprises 12 member groups after expanding to include a selection of non-primary care specialty associations.
4. "The day before yesterday, I saw a post-infarction patient who was depressed. Yesterday, I saw a patient needing bypass surgery; about a half an hour after he left the office, he called me and said how anxious he was now about an impending major surgery, reaching out for help. Which leads to a little bit of frustration on my part that for the depression and the anxiety, I didn't have the embedded solution. So, we're working toward that," Richard Kovacs, MD, cardiologist and chief medical officer for the ACC, told the AMA.
5. A handful of cardiology practices have begun embedding a psychologist internally to facilitate a warm handoff following cardiac treatment.