Background: Globally, ischemic heart disease (IHD) is one of the main causes of death. It manifests clinically as myocardial infarction and ischemic cardiomyopathy. The current study shows that there is a strong association between depression and body mass index among ischemic heart disease patients. Objectives: To determine the association of depression with BMI among IHD patients. Methodology: An analytical cross-sectional study has been conducted among IHD patients admitted to selected hospitals, Khyber Teaching Hospital and Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar, Pakistan, using convenient sampling techniques. Results: 196 participants were included in this study from tertiary hospitals in Peshawar. In the current study, the mean and standard deviation (SD) of age were (59.35±14.59). This study reveals that there is a strong association between depression and BMI among IHD patients. The depressions of participants were minimal depression (8.2%), mild depression (16.8%), moderate depression (24.5%), moderately severe depression (31.1%), and severe depression (19.4%). The association of depression with BMI (P value is.021). Conclusion: Depression is the major cause of ischemic heart disease. Because of the increase in platelet activation, endothelial dysfunction has been implicated as a potential pathophysiological pathway for ischemic heart disease.

Keywords: Depression, Body mass index (BMI), ischemic heart disease (IHD).