THE USE OF ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS IN PATIENTS WITH HEART-DISEASE

Both depression and cardiovascular disease are common as people age an d are, therefore, likely to coexist. It has become evident recently th at the rate of this comorbidity exceeds substantially what is expected by chance. A major problem arises in that there is increasing evidenc e that the tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) carry more risk than origi nally thought in patients with ischemic heart disease. This risk incre ases the importance of understanding both the safety and efficacy of t he serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in this population. Three recent studies on safety data in patients with overt heart dise ase are now available: although the total of 94 patients limits the ab ility to make generalizations, the data that are available give little evidence of harm and even suggest that SSRIs may have beneficial effe cts in ischemic heart disease.