Efficiency and safety of Vortioxetine in the treatment of depressive disorders in cardiac patients
Authors: Filippova N. V. , Barylnik Yu. B. , Bogdanova T. M. , Blinova V. V. , Shchelchkova A. A. , Mozgacheva E. S. 
Published: June 2023

Importance of the problem. Diseases of the cardiovascular system are in the first place among the causes of death and disability in most industrialized countries, which is undoubtedly an urgent medical and social problem and causes significant economic damage. The prevalence of depressive disorders in modern society, according to WHO estimates, is quite high, and the causes of depressive disorders and methods for their correction in patients with various somatic diseases have been the subject of study by specialists around the world for many decades. The comorbidity of depressive disorders with cardiac pathology is beyond doubt, and the bidirectional relationship of these disorders significantly aggravates the condition of patients, worsens their quality of life and reduces adherence to treatment. The most important conditions for the use of antidepressants in cardiology practice are good tolerability, absence of toxic effect, minimal interaction with other drugs, and relative safety in case of overdose. Vortioxetine, being a modern multimodal antidepressant, demonstrates not only a sufficiently high antidepressant and anti-anxiety activity, but also has a procognitive effect, as well as minimal side effects and undesirable cross-interactions with other drugs, which is confirmed by international randomized placebo-controlled trials. The aim of this work was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Vortioxetine in the treatment of concomitant depressive disorders in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD), angina pectoris 2-3 functional class (FC) (I 20.8 according to ICD-10), receiving complex therapy for the main (cardiological) diseases at the inpatient and outpatient stages of therapy. Materials and methods. The study included patients with a diagnosis of coronary artery disease, angina pectoris FC 2-3, hypertension 2-3, aged 45 to 66 years (mean age 57.1±1.1 years), receiving complex therapy for the underlying cardiac disease and Vortioxetine at a dose of 10-15 mg/day. within 8 weeks. Anxiety and depressive manifestations were assessed on the HADS scale, the level of cognitive impairment on the PDQ questionnaire, social functioning on the SF-36 questionnaire, the general clinical impression on the CGI-C scale, and the main indicators of the functioning of the cardiovascular system upon admission to the hospital, after 4 weeks of hospitalization. treatment and another 4 weeks after discharge during the period of outpatient observation.

The result of the combined therapy of patients with cardiac pathology and concomitant depressive disorder (basic therapy for CVD and Vortioxetine) was not only an improvement in the cardiovascular system (decrease in heart rate, blood pressure, the frequency of anginal pain, an increase in exercise tolerance), but also the relief of depressive manifestations, which contributed to an increase in the adherence of cardiological patients to the implementation of medical recommendations, and, in turn, led to a decrease in the level of end points—mortality, hospitalization rates, progression of chronic heart failure and disability. Conclusions. Appointment of Vortioxetine to cardiac patients with concomitant depressive disorder of moderate severity is quite effective not only in terms of relief of painful manifestations of the CVS, but also leads to a reduction in anxiety-depressive disorders and an improvement in cognitive and social functioning. The good tolerability of the drug makes it possible to recommend it for the treatment of depressive disorders in cardiological patients in a hospital setting and in outpatient practice.