Conditions: Acute Coronary Syndrome Depression
Keywords: Acute coronary syndrome Depression Satisfaction with care
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 150
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
Patients will be consented and screened within 2 to 6 months of the index ACS. Patients who have elevated depression (BDI\>=15 or BDI\>=10 assessed twice over two week period) and who continue to meet all of the trial's eligibility criteria will be consented. Through informed consent, both arms of the trial will be described with equipoise as to these approaches to postACS depression care. Patients who consent to randomization will be enrolled in the treatment trial.

The intervention phase will be 6 months, and hence the final outcome assessments will be performed approximately 9 months after the index ACS. Interim measures of depression will be obtained at 2 and 4 months post-enrollment. Major adverse cardiac events and all-cause mortality will also be ascertained at 6 months post-enrollment. Quality assurance by an independent medical event adjudication committee using prospective guidelines will be employed.

Detailed description:

Arms:
arm 1: Immediately after the initial post-ACS screening, the participant's physician will be notified in writing if the participant is depressed according to the BDI. Depending upon the physician's own evaluation of the participant, he or she may elect to defer depression treatment, initiate it, or to refer the patient to a mental health specialist. arm 2: Stepped Care participants will be given a description of the choices available in this arm, including choosing antidepressant medication and/or telephone-based, Problem-Solving Therapy (PST). If the patient is randomized to Stepped Care, their physician will be informed that depression treatment is being provided by the trial. Patients will select their preferred treatment approach. Depression symptoms will be monitored to determine whether the patient is improving relative to his/her baseline score. Relapse monitoring and maintenance therapy will continue for the duration of the study.

Interventions: intervention 1: Problem Solving Therapy intervention 2: Sertraline, citalopram, or bupropion intervention 3: Standard care
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Problem Solving Therapy (PST) will be administered by a trained provider. The concepts of PST will be taught to the participant in the first session and reinforced across subsequent sessions. Sessions will last between 30 and 60 minutes each and continue weekly for the duration of the study (6 months). intervention 2: Antidepressants should be started at the lowest dose, but should be adjusted upward to be within the therapeutic range within 1 week,with further adjustment higher in the therapeutic range possible at 3-4 weeks. Dosage of the first medication selected will be in the therapeutic range by 3 weeks of the initial step, as tolerated. If a patient cannot tolerate a particular treatment (i.e., intolerable side effects even with careful titration and clinical management), a switch to an alternative antidepressant or PST-PC after 2-4 weeks and 'restart' step 1.

Sertraline: 25-150qam Citalopram: 10-40qam Bupropion: 100-450qam intervention 3: Participants will receive standard of care from the current physicians

Protocol document: