It has been found in studies recently that high doses of certain antidepressants may leave patients at risk of developing prolongation of the QT interval, which is a marker for possible ventricular arrythmia. Investigators looked at over 38,000 electronic medical records and found a "slight but significant" association between QT prolongation and prescriptions of citalopram or escitalopram to name a few. Others were associated with shortening the QT interval, which has been seen before in research. The full list of medications is included in the article, so check it out.
I just found this interesting, because now certain medications both prolong and shorten, leaving a little inconsistency, and making the physician's job much more difficult. The higher the dose, as with any drug, the side effect profile typically goes up. The antidepressant market is very different than other areas or disease states I have dealt with in the past. It is not cut and dry, there is a lot more to it and i understand that once patients find something that work for them, it's best to stick to it, but most data shows that over 40% of patients have side effects on therapy and 50% do not even respond to initial therapy. Now arrythmias is another thing to consider and I am sure updates to the prescribing information will be occurring as more concrete evidence is found.
Some Antidepressants cause Arrythmias
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