The importance of depression in coronary artery disease (CAD) outcomes is being increasingly recognized. The aim of this study was to investigate the power of depression as a predictor of return to work, both at full time and at reduced working hours, within 12 months of participation in a behaviorally oriented rehabilitation program in Sweden. The sample comprised 198 employed patients who had recently experienced an acute myocardial infarction (AMI, n=85), or had been treated with coronary by-pass surgery (CABG, n=73) or coronary angioplasty (PTCA, n=40). The results showed that clinical depression before intervention (>or=16 as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory) exerted a great influence on work resumption both at full-time (odds ratio 9.43, CI=3.15-28.21) and at reduced working-hours (odds ratio 5.44, CI=1.60-18.53), while mild depression (BDI 10-15) influenced only work resumption at full-time (odds ratio 2.89, CI=1.08-7.70). Education and, at full-time hours, age also predicted work resumption. This highlights the importance of depressive symptoms in relation to return to work after a CAD event. More research is needed in order to elaborate the degree to which treatment of depression enhances work resumption rates.