Anxiety in subjects with cardiovascular disease: Current diagnostic strategies and therapeutic options. A review

Anxiety and anxiety disorders are important modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular and other common chronic non-communicable diseases and complications. Anxiety disorders significantly reduce the motivation and adherence of patients to lifestyle changes and drug therapy, significantly worsen the quality of life, and increase the risk of disability and the costs of the health care system. The issues of diagnosis and therapy of anxiety are relevant for the practice of physicians and cardiologists due to the high incidence of anxiety disorders in patients with cardiovascular diseases, a decrease in the quality of life and an increase in adverse outcomes, and also due to the insufficient awareness of the risks associated with the psycho-emotional state of patients. Therapy of anxiety disorders includes both drug and non-drug methods. The first-line drugs in treating most anxiety disorders are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or selective serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. The risk of possible side effects of these agents in patients with cardiovascular diseases should be considered. Sedative and anti-anxiety drugs, including non-benzodiazepine tranquilizers, are more commonly used. The most studied drug from this class in therapeutic and cardiological practice is fabomotizole. The efficacy and safety of fabomotizole, including long-term use, have been studied in numerous studies in patients with cardiovascular diseases and a wide range of anxiety disorders.