Heart Disease Patients
Using SSRIs Higher Risk of Death - Anti-Depressant Drugs Increase May Be
Dangerous - Duke University Medical Center
March 4th 2006
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Researchers from Duke University Medical Center have discovered that
coronary artery disease patients who take common antidepressant drugs
may have a significantly higher risk of death. Even after accounting
for such factors as age, degree of heart disease and severity of
depression, the researchers found that heart patients taking
antidepressant medications had a 55 percent higher risk of dying.
The study suggests that doctors should reconsider treatment options for
heart disease patients with depression. The Duke team-leader, Lana
Watkins, Ph.D., say that the findings add further support the potential
role of non-pharmocological approaches to treating depression, such as
exercise, for reducing the risk of death in depressed heart patients.
She recommends close monitoring of heart patients taking
antidepressants.
The research was not definitive. According to Watkins, it was only an
observational study. The patients were not randomized to receive an
antidepressant or a placebo drug, therefore characteristics of the
patients, such as more likelihood for their depression or their medical
condition to worsen, may be responsible for the effects.
She says that a randomized study is needed to form a conclusion, plus to
“better understand whether antidepressant use is identifying patients
likely to have more severe or worsening depression or worsening medical
disease during the follow-up period.”
Until now, researchers were unaware of a mortality risk. Watkins said
“We were surprised since antidepressants, particularly the newer class
of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI),
have been generally considered safe… Even after taking into account many
patient variables, as well as the type of antidepressant, the risk still
remained. So there is something important going on here that we don't
fully understand."
During the past decade, doctors have considered depression an important
risk factor for patients with coronary artery disease. Anti-depressant
drug prescriptions have increased for these patients. Until now there
has not been any data accompanied by tabulated scientific research,
especially concerning SSRIs on mortality.
Watkins presented here analysis to the March 4, 2006 annual meeting of
the American Psychosomatic Society in Denver. The research was supported
by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
By Dan Wilson
Best Syndication Staff Writer
Books on Heart Disease
Keywords and misspellings:
coranary
micro-vascular disfunction
iscemic iskemic
ishcemic ishcemia angiograf blood presure
stroke embolism imbolism embilism embelism bloode clot |
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