Clinical Study of Psycho-cardiology Combined with FNS in the Treatment of SCAD with Depression

To investigate the effects of psycho-cardiology combined with fastigial nucleus stimulation (FNS) on patients with stable coronary artery disease (SCAD) complicated with depression, we observed the changes of concentrations of N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), dopamine (DA) and depressive symptoms in these patients. One hundred and fifty patients, who were hospitalized the Department of Cardiology at the Third People's Hospital of Mianyang from February 2020 to October 2021 with a confirmed diagnosis of SCAD combined with depression, were selected as study subjects. Patients were randomly divided into a control group, a psycho-cardiology treatment group and a combined treatment group. The control group was given conventional treatment of SCAD and pseudo-stimulation of the fastigial nucleus, the psycho-cardiology treatment group was given conventional treatment of SCAD, psychological interventions and pseudo-stimulation of the fastigial nucleus, and the combined treatment group was given conventional treatment of SCAD, psychological intervention and FNS. The changes of concentrations of TNF-α, NT-proBNP, 5-HT and DA were observed in the three groups of patients, and the changes of the state of depression were assessed by Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD). Serum NT-proBNP and TNF-α concentrations decreased significantly after treatment in the three groups. Especially, the decrease in the combined treatment group was the most significant(<i>p<0.05</i>). Serum 5-HT and DA concentrations were not statistically different in the three groups before and after treatment (<i>p>0.05</i>). However, they were significantly higher in the psycho-cardiology treatment group and the combined treatment group(<i>p<0.05</i>) and the increase in the combined treatment group was more significant than in the psycho-cardiology treatment group. In the control group, the difference of HAMD scores was not statistically significant before and after treatment (<i>p>0.05</i>), in the psycho-cardiology treatment group and the combined treatment group, the scores decreased significantly after treatment compared to before treatment (<i>p<0.05</i>). Furthermore, compared to the psycho-cardiology treatment group, the decrease was more significant in the combined treatment group (<i>p<0.05</i>). Our data suggested that Psycho-cardiology medicine combined with FNS can effectively reduce the level of serum NT-proBNP and TNF-α, increase the serum concentrations of 5-HT and DA and improve the symptoms of depression in patients with SCAD complicated with depression.