Presence of depressive symptoms in patients with a first episode of Acute Coronary Syndrome1

Aim: to compare possible differences regarding the presence of depressive symptoms according to the clinical diagnosis of Acute Coronary Syndrome, gender and age, one week before the first cardiac event. Method: cross-sectional, descriptive and exploratory study, which used the Beck Depression Inventory. The sample consisted of 253 patients. Results: it was found that patients with a clinical diagnosis of unstable angina, female and under 60 years of age reported the presence of depressive symptoms more frequently. Conclusion: a high percentage of patients presented depressive symptoms at the time of hospitalization for the first episode of Acute Coronary Syndrome, and this prevalence was significantly higher among women, under 60 years of age, with unstable angina. These results should provide support for the care in the hospitalization, discharge and planning of the rehabilitation of these patients, as it is known tha