Major Depressive Disorder in a Patient with Systemic Lupus Erythematous, Pulmonary Hypertension, and Hypercoagulation: A Case Report

Major depressive disorder is characterized by the presence of single or repeated major depressive episodes, which are considered periods of 2 weeks of depressive moods featuring impaired neurovegetative functioning, psychomotor activity, and cognition, as well as suicidal thoughts. Major depressive disorder is commonly associated with other medical conditions, especially chronic and systemic medical illnesses. Cardiovascular diseases are among the most related, especially pulmonary hypertension, a cardiovascular disorder that results in increased pulmonary circulation pressure--with an average resting pulmonary artery pressure of at least 25 mmHg--and which the WHO has associated with several other conditions, including connective tissue diseases such as scleroderma and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The patient in this case is a 39-year-old woman diagnosed with major depressive disorder and SLE-associated pulmonary artery hypertension, which has been associated with hypercoagulable states, as observed in this instance. The complicated associations between these problems require collaboration between disciplines to establish optimal treatment integrity, with palliative care necessary to improve this patient's quality of life.