Antipsychotic drugs: sudden cardiac death among elderly patients

Sudden cardiac death has become a significant clinical concern when prescribing antipsychotic drugs, especially to older people with dementia. Sudden death syndrome has been known for decades to occur in association with taking first-generation antipsychotic medications, but it has become more prominent recently due to safety reviews about the use of second-generation antipsychotic medications. In 2005, the United States Food and Drug Administration disseminated information about cardiac fatalities, which led to black box warnings in second-generation, antipsychotic, drug-prescribing literature about higher mortality when administering to elderly persons with dementia-related psychoses. In this population, treatment results in death rates of 4.5 percent, as compared to 2.6 percent in subjects taking a placebo. Actually, patients treated with both the first- and second-generation versions experienced an increased incidence of fatalities. Before utilizing these agents, a careful workup must be completed. The presence of a psychosis or mania should be the only conventional indication for prescribing first- and second-generation antipsychotic medications. Physicians should always evaluate patients for comorbid conditions, especially heart disease and metabolic abnormalities, and all currently used medications to assure a risk-to-benefit ratio favoring the application of an antipsychotic medication. An electrocardiogram is a part of the evaluation of the cardiac status and determines the base line QT interval. While prescribing these medications in elderly patients, physicians must provide individualized clinical, electrocardiographic, and pharmaceutical monitoring.