Background

Evidence exists linking major depressive disorder (MDD) with clinical cardiovascular events. The importance of the sympathetic nervous system in the generation of cardiac risk in other contexts is established.

Objective

To examine the importance of the sympathetic nervous system in the generation of cardiac risk in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).

Methods

Studies were performed in 39 patients meeting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM-IV) criteria for MDD and in 76 healthy subjects. Treatment for patients consisted of selective serotonin reuptake inhibition (SSRI) for 12 weeks. Whole body and cardiac sympathetic activity were examined using noradrenaline isotope dilution methodology and sympathetic nerve recording techniques. Measurement of the extraction of infused tritiated noradrenaline by the heart, and estimation of cardiac dihydroxyphenylglycol production provided direct quantification of neuronal noradrenaline reuptake.

Results

Sympathetic activity, particularly in the heart and for the whole body, in patients with MDD followed a bimodal distribution. Elevated values were observed in patients with co-morbid panic disorder (P= 0.006). Consistent with a defect in noradrenaline reuptake, the cardiac extraction of tritiated noradrenaline (0.80�0.01 versus 0.56�0.04%, P< 0.001) and cardiac dihydroxyphenylglycol overflow (109�8 versus 73�11, P= 0.01) were reduced in patients with MDD. SSRI therapy abolished the excessive sympathetic activation, with whole body noradrenaline spillover falling from 518�83 to 290�41 ng/min (P= 0.008).

Conclusions

We have identified a subset of patients with MDD in whom sympathetic nervous activity is extraordinarily high, including in the sympathetic outflow to the heart. Treatment with an SSRI may reduce sympathetic activity in a manner likely to reduce cardiac risk.