Amlodipine and Baclofen Overdose Causing Cardiogenic Shock and Mimicking Brain Death: A Novel Combination

Suicide has always been a global health crisis that affects every population on earth. For as long as it has been recorded, overdosing and taking herbal medicines have been a common way to commit suicide. Advancements in pharmaceuticals and the readily available nature of over-the-counter (OTC) medications have led to the prevalence of using OTC medications as a means to end one's life. Of these medications, cardiac medications, i.e., heart failure and hypertension medications, constitute one of the most potent forms taken for committing suicide. We present a case of a combined toxicity where a gentleman attempted suicide by taking a combination of amlodipine and baclofen, which caused severe cardiogenic shock followed by apparent clinical brain death, preventing the use of extracorporeal support, later resolving with complete resolution without any residual deficit, with the patient confirming the ingestion of baclofen upon waking up. This is the first encounter with such a combination to be recorded in the literature with complete resolution of symptoms.