Recurrence of dilated cardiomyopathy after re-introduction of a tricyclic antidepressant

F Briec1, C Delaire, J B Bouhour

  • 1Clinique cardiologique et des maladies vasculaires. Institut du thorax, CHU, 44093 Nantes.

Archives Des Maladies Du Coeur Et Des Vaisseaux
|November 15, 2006
PubMed

A causal relationship between treatment with tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) at therapeutic doses and cases of dilated cardiomyopathy has been suspected, but not definitely evidenced. We present a case of a dilated cardiomyopathy, which seemed idiopathic, but occurred during treatment with imipramine and recovered after its withdrawal. For the first recorded time, the cardiomyopathy recurred 9 years later, after a 2-year period of treatment with amitriptyline and lithium, and recovered again 1 year after both psychotropic drugs withdrawal. New arguments for the existence of TCA-induced dilated cardiomyopathy are brought.

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