Collaborative care can significantly lower levels of depression in heart disease patients, new research has shown.

A study in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes investigated the effect of using non-physician care management to coordinate depression evaluation and treatment with heart patients, their primary doctor and a psychiatrist.

It was found that after six and 12 weeks of this collaborative care and depression management, patients reported significant reduction in depression and anxiety, and an improved quality of life.

Lead author Jeff C Huffman commented: "In the real world this program would be applied on cardiac floors and would be much more easily applied to a large group of patients rather than a small subset or single diagnosis.

This comes after researchers from Johns Hopkins found that if a blood test is carried out on heart patients when they are discharged from hospital, they could cut readmissions for those with heart failure.