Kianoush Ansari Gilani - Research Institute for Nuclear Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Babak Fallahi - Research Institute for Nuclear Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Jamak Modaresi Esfeh - Hazrat-e Rasoul Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Maryam Shahidzadeh Mahani - Shahid Chamran Hospital, Tehran, Iran

  Introduction: The relationship between depression and coronary artery disease is well established; however assessment of this relationship using functional and semi-quantitative imaging (myocardial perfusion scintigraphy) was lacking. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the severity of depression and the severity of myocardial perfusion abnormality. Methods: Patients were assessed with rest/stress 99mTc-MIBI myocardial perfusion scintigraphy using Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II). Visual and semi-quantitative assessment of myocardial perfusion score (MPS) in a five-scale measurement for standard 20-segment-model were used. Results: When all patients (n=167) were evaluated, no correlation was found between MPS and BDI-score. Considering only those with significant perfusion abnormality (MPS95) (p=0.097), but other myocardial walls failed to show such association. Conclusion: In patients with significant perfusion abnormality, the greater is this abnormality the more severe is the depression. Also patients with inferior wall infarction, have a higher BDI-score as compared with normal subjects.

Depression, Myocardial perfusion, Scintigraphy