Antipsychotics and the Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death

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Abstract
ANTIPSYCHOTIC AGENTS, the primary treatment for schizophrenia and other psychoses,1 long have been suspected to increase the risk of serious ventricular arrhythmias and, thus, sudden cardiac death.2,3 The literature includes numerous case reports of torsades de pointes and sudden death in patients taking thioridazine,4- 6 haloperidol,7,8 risperidone,9,10 and other antipsychotics.3 Users of antipsychotic medications are overrepresented in registries of sudden deaths.11 Cohort studies12- 15 of schizophrenic patients have reported a persistent excess of cardiovascular disease–related mortality. Several3,16 have speculated that this is, at least in part, attributable to antipsychotic use.

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