In the conditions of the existing pandemic, that affects both the physical and psychological health of people, it can be predicted with a high degree of probability an outbreak in mental disorders and stress-associated mental illnesses, including depression. The problem of the relationship between depression and cardiac diseases, in particular coronary heart disease (CHD), has been studied by native and foreign scientists for several decades. Various mechanisms have been found and continue to be studied, indicating that the presence of depression can affect more or less on the course of coronary heart disease and even become a predictor of new cardiac events. Dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system with changes in heart rate variability, hyperactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and associated hypercortisolemia, disorders of serotonergic signal transmission pathways, high aggregation response and increased platelet activity, continuous increase of proinflammatory cytokines ((IL17A,  IL6, TNFa and IL12p70) in patients’ plasma – such mechanisms probably underlie the correlation between depression and an increased risk of cardiovascular complications and cardiac death. The review includes some features of depression and its influence on various forms of coronary heart disease, particularly in different age and gender groups. In view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this theme seems to be relevant and requires targeted study. Probably it is necessary to conduct clinical researches, to create registers for a detailed assessment of the mutual influence of depression and coronary heart disease in  existing conditions. Perhaps, the results of such work will contribute not only to the early detection and treatment of depression, but also to the development of new ways in primary and secondary prevention of coronary heart disease and its acute forms.

Objective. To study the prevalence of depressive disorders using Zung Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the daily work of the Regional Vascular Center in various gender and social subgroups and to compare their severity with the life quality level.Materials and Methods. The survey included 116 (57 female and 59 male) patients, admitted to Regional Vascular Center with ACS from March to November 2020 (Group 1), and 49 patients hospitalized with other cardiological pathology (Group 2), who made up a comparison group comparable in gender, age, presence of diabetes mellitus, heart attack and stroke in anamnesis.Results. In Group I the score on SDS was higher or equal to 50 (depression) in 18 % of cases: 15 % female and 3 % male patients (p <0.05). The average score on SDS was notably higher in women than in men (p <0.05). In Group 2 depression was detected in 27 % of cases, without gender differences. The average level of depression was higher in older age groups, both in men and women, in patients with ACS and without ACS. A negative correlation was established for the indicators of SDS and SF-36: in Group 1 r = –0.62, p <0.05, in Group 2 r = –0.76, p <0.05. In Group 1 indicators of health physical component (SF-36) among women were: physical functioning 50, role functioning 34, general health 51, in men: 80, 58 and 63 respectively (p <0.05). In Group 2 these indicators significantly differed only in physical functioning: 60 female and 72 male. In Group 1 depression was observed in 2 % of working and in 30 % of non-working patients (p <0.05); in Group 2: 0 and 34 % respectively. In Groups 1 and 2 depression was found in 10 and 5 % among married, in 31 and 43 % among unmarried patients (p <0.05). In Group 1 depression was detected in 31 % among patients with diabetes, in 12 % – without diabetes (p <0.05). The other analyzed diseases did not have a significant effect on the de pression score.Conclusions. The presence of ACS was associated with depressive disorders in women. At the same time, the severity of depressive disorders was inversely correlated with the quality of life. In women with ACS, the physical component and the psychological component of health on the quality of life scale are significantly lower in comparison with men. In addition, the absence of work and marriage negatively affected the prevalence of depressive disorders among all examined patients. And the presence of diabetes mellitus was associated with a higher level of depression among patients with ACS. It is necessary to develop and implement specialized rehabilitation programs for the following subgroups of patients with ACS and depression – unemployed and unmarried women, with a low level of quality of life, elderly patients, patients with diabetes mellitus.