Pathogenesis of depression after myocardial infarction: rationale, state of the art and perspectives

Relation between depression and myocardial infarction is known, but the mechanism that explains depression occurrence after myocardial infarction (AMI) is still unclear. The objective of this study was to review the literature to better understand the pathogenesis of post-myocardial infarction depression. Using a strategy similar to systematic review, we found experimental and clinical evidences. The post-myocardial infarction depression (PMID) has multiple causes such as psychological, biological dysfunctions or a combination of both. The inflammation of central nervous system and neurons destruction in specific regions of the brain resulted of AMI could be responsible to PMID, and it seems to be the main mechanism.