Antidepressant Use and Risk for Adverse Cardiovascular Outcomes

Observational studies have suggested a link between selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and excess risk for adverse cardiovascular (CV) events in older adults (age, ≥65); whether this is true in younger adults is unclear. Furthermore, the FDA has warned against prescribing the SSRI citalopram at doses >40 mg daily because of risk for QT-interval prolongation. U.K. researchers used a primary care database to examine associations between antidepressant use and adverse CV events in 240,000 adults (age range, 20–64) with first diagnoses of depression.

During median follow-up of 5 years, none of the antidepressant drug classes (e.g., SSRIs, tricyclic agents, other antidepressants) were associated with excess risk for myocardial infarc…