The safety of electroconvulsive therapy in patients with prolonged QTc intervals on the electrocardiogram
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Methods for ECG Evaluation of Indicators of Cardiac Risk, and Susceptibility to Aconitine-induced Arrhythmias in Rats Following Status Epilepticus
Published on: April 5, 2011
Samuel J Pullen1, Keith G Rasmussen, Elizabeth R Angstman
1Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
Background:
Prolonged QTc intervals have been associated with increased cardiac morbidity and mortality. We investigated whether pretreatment prolongation of the QTc interval was associated with increased cardiac-related events (CREs) in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) treatment of psychiatric disorders.
Methods:
The charts of 1437 ECT patients were reviewed for the presence of baseline QTc prolongation. Broadly defined CREs during the course of treatment were abstracted from patient charts.
Results:
Presence of baseline QTc prolongation was not independent of increased risk of CREs during ECT.
Implications:
Careful consideration should be given to patients who have QTc prolongation on an electrocardiogram and are undergoing ECT treatment, but this should not definitively exclude patients from receiving ECT treatment.
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