Worcester MU, et al. - Researchers used a historical design to confirm the persistence of long term (up to 25 years) adverse impact of depression, including mild levels, on mortality status in patients who suffered acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Participants included patients who had been consecutively admitted to hospital after transmural AMI during the 1980s and enrolled in an exercise training trial. They administered the Beck Depression Inventory to 188 patients in the third week after hospital admission. They classified scores as low (0–5), mild (6–9) or moderate to severe (≥10) depression. They noted that patients continued to have increased risk for many years and this necessitates early identification of depression, including milder levels, in these patients. Also, such patients require ongoing monitoring and appropriate treatment.