Depression and anxiety often accompany a type of chest pain called angina, a symptom of coronary artery disease. In a study of almost 200 patients with ischemia, a blockage of blood flow to the heart, researchers found that of the 30 percent who had monthly angina, 44 percent also had anxiety and 64 percent had signs of depression. And of all participants, those with anxiety or depression were more likely to have frequent angina. While the study doesn’t prove whether anxiety and depression cause angina—or vice versa—it raises the possibility that treating depression could alleviate chest pain.
Source: Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, published online July 6, 2009