Responses of Myocardial Ischemia to Escitalopram Treatment

Phase 4

Completed

Conditions: Myocardial Ischemia

Interventions: Drug: Placebo
Drug: Escitalopram

Registration Number: NCT00574847

Lead Sponsor: Duke University

Brief Summary: Depression is commonly seen in patients with cardiovascular disorders. In recent studies it has been shown that mild to moderate depression symptoms were associated with increased likelihood of mental stress-induced myocardial ischemia (MSIMI), which is a risk factor of poor cardiac outcome. In this project, the investigators aim to assess the treatment of mental stress-induced myocardial ischemia in ischemic heart disease patients with mild to moderate depressive symptoms. This study is a six-week double-blind placebo controlled study to examine the effects of escitalopram on mental stress-induced myocardial ischemia. This study will look to show that patients with ischemic heart disease who are treated with escitalopram will exhibit a significant improvement of MSIMI at the end of week 6 compared to patients receiving placebo.

Detailed Description: The goals of this project are to investigate the response of mental stress-induced myocardial ischemia (MSIMI) to escitalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI); to determine whether MSIMI will be reduced by the treatment, and whether the modification of MSIMI is related to improvement of depression symptoms, and/or the reduction of platelet aggregation, and/or the reduction of cardiovascular reactivity. This is a randomized study using escitalopram versus placebo for stable ischemic heart disease patients with MSIMI. This study will also explore the role of platelet activity in occurrence with MSIMI and other characteristics of MSIMI, such as systolic and diastolic function of the left ventricle during mental stress testing as compared to exercise testing.

The stress testing will be conducted at the Duke Cardiology Diagnostic Unit Laboratory. Following a 20-minute calibration-rest period, participants will be asked to complete a series of 3 mental stress tasks. There are 3 mental stress tasks to be used for this study, i.e., (1) Mental arithmetic: during this test, patients will be asked to perform a series of serial subtractions beginning at a given number which will be different for each repeated test and will be chosen by the tester from a fixed list of various numbers, with encouragement to perform calculations as quickly as possible; (2) Public speaking with anger recall: during this test, patients will be asked to give a speech on a recent situation in which they experienced anger to an audience of observers (two to three) after 1 minute of preparation. Prior to the speech, subjects are told that their speech will be evaluated on their description of the situation, as to what happened, what they thought, felt, what they did, and what happened as a result. If they run out of things to say, the research tech will prompt them with questions to elicit more content until the three minutes are up; (3) Mirror trace: during this test, patients will be asked to outline, as quickly as possible, a star from its reflection in a mirror. Each task will last 3 minutes and there will be a 6-minute rest period between tasks.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 127

Inclusion Criteria

Age 21 or greater, less than 90
Stable ischemic heart disease

Exclusion Criteria

Recent myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass graft surgery, or other revascularization procedures (less than 3 months ago)
Left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF) < 15% measured by echocardiography, radionuclide ventriculography (RNV), or cardiac catheterization
Life threatening arrhythmia or arrhythmia interrupting the interpretation of ischemia
Unable to withdraw from anti-anginal medications during ischemic assessment phase
Unable to perform exercise testing
Pregnancy
Current or previous history of bipolar disorder, cyclothymia, schizophrenia, schizoaffective or schizophreniform disorder, or other psychotic disorders
Active suicidal ideation
Current substance abuse or history of substance abuse in the previous 6 months
Significant cardiac, pulmonary, metabolic, renal, hepatic disease, or malignancy, interfering with patient's participation in this study
Seizure (history and/or present) with/without treatment
Currently taking antidepressants that cannot be discontinued

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Placebo	Placebo	Placebo
Escitalopram	Escitalopram	Escitalopram treatment

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Percentage of Participants With Overall Mental Stress-induced Myocardial Ischemia (MSIMI)	week 6	MSIMI is defined by the following: compared to rest, 1) any development of new abnormal wall motion; 2) reduction of LVEF 8% and/or; 3) deviation (depression or elevation) of ST-segment of ECG in 2 or more leads lasting for 3 consecutive beats, occurring during at least one of the 3 mental stress tasks.
Percentage of Participants With an Absence of Mental Stress-induced Myocardial Ischemia (MSIMI) During the 3 Mental Stressors	Week 6	MSIMI is defined by the following: compared to rest, 1) any development of new abnormal wall motion; 2) reduction of LVEF 8% and/or; 3) deviation (depression or elevation) of ST-segment of ECG in 2 or more leads lasting for 3 consecutive beats, occurring during at least one of the 3 mental stress tasks.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Exercise Stressed-induced Myocardial Ischemia (ESIMI)	6 week	End point values adjusted for baseline values age and sex.
Percentage of Participants With Adverse Events	Baseline to week 6
Platelet Serotonin Binding Affinity Kd_100	6 weeks	End point values adjusted for baseline values age and sex.
Mental Stress Induced Change of Systolic Blood Pressure	Baseline, week 6	Blood pressure will be measured the last 3 minutes of the 20 minute calibration period (resting), every minute during the 3 minutes mental stress testing, the last 3 minutes of the 6 minute rest periods between mental stress testing, and every minute during and after the physical stress testing with an automatic oscillometric blood pressure monitor (Quinton Electronics). Mental Stress Induced Change of Systolic Blood Pressure will be calculated by taking the mean of the mental stress systolic blood pressure measurements minus the resting Systolic blood pressure. End point values adjusted for baseline values age and sex.
Mental Stress Induced Change of Diastolic Blood Pressure	Baseline, week 6	Blood pressure will be measured the last 3 minutes of the 20 minute calibration period (resting), every minute during the 3 minutes mental stress testing, the last 3 minutes of the 6 minute rest periods between mental stress testing, and every minute during and after the physical stress testing with an automatic oscillometric blood pressure monitor (Quinton Electronics). Mental Stress Induced Change of Diastolic Blood Pressure will be calculated by taking the mean of the mental stress Diastolic blood pressure measurements minus the resting Diastolic blood pressure. End point values adjusted for baseline values age and sex.
5HTT, Serotonin Transporter Protein	week 6	End point values adjusted for baseline values age and sex.
Mental Stress Induced Change in Heart Rate	baseline, 6 weeks	A standard 12-lead Electrocardiograph (ECG) will be recorded at 1-minute intervals during the last 3 minutes of each rest period, the 3 minutes of the mental stress testing, and during exercise testing. Heart rate will be determined from the ECGs. Mental Stress Induced Change in heart rate will be calculated by taking the mean of the mental stress heart rate measurements minus the resting heart rate measurements. End point values adjusted for baseline values age and sex.
Beck Depression Inventory	6 week	The Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) is a 21 question, self-administered measure of depressive symptoms. Score range, 0 to 63 (higher score=greater severity of depressive symptoms). End point values adjusted for baseline values age and sex.
Perceived Stress Scale	6 weeks	Score range, 10 to 50 (higher score = greater levels of perceived stress). End point values adjusted for baseline values age and sex.
Cook-Medley Hostility (Ho) Scale	6 weeks	Score ranges: hostility, 0 to 27 (higher score=greater levels of hostility)/ End point values adjusted for baseline values age and sex.
Cook-Medley Hostility (Ho) Hostile Affect Sub-scale	6 weeks	hostile affect, 0 to 5 (higher score=greater levels of hostile affect). End point values adjusted for baseline values age and sex.
Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Scales (STAI)	6 weeks	STAI measures anxiety. The questionnaire asks the patients how they feel and allows them to respond on a frequency scale that ranges from 1(not at all) to 4(almost always/very much so). Scores range from 20-80 and the higher the score the greater the anxiety level. This applies to both the Trait and State scales. End point values adjusted for baseline values age and sex.