Cardiac safety parameters of olanzapine: Comparison with other atypical and typical antipsychotics

Alterations of electrocardiogram results and cases of sudden cardiac death have been reported since the beginning of neuroleptic treatment. In particu lar, a temporal association exists between some antipsychotics and prolonga tion of the heart rate-corrected QT interval (QTc), an event that may incre ase the risk for developing a potentially fatal ventricular tachycardia arr hythmia known as torsades de pointes if it significantly exceeds normal int raindividual and interindividual variation. Although the incidence of serio us adverse cardiac events in response to antipsychotic medications is relat ively low, any possibility for the occurrence of cardiotoxicity warrants co ntinued study. The present article reviews important differences among anti psychotic drugs in the potential for, and occurrence of, serious adverse ca rdiac outcomes and suggests that olanzapine, as therapeutically administere d to patients with schizophrenia and related psychoses, does not contribute significantly to a QTc prolongation that could result in potentially fatal ventricular arrhythmias.