A new study shows antidepressants significantly increase the risk of sudden cardiac death, especially with prolonged use. Younger adults face the highest danger, with those under 39 seeing up to five times greater risk. The research, presented at EHRA 2025, highlights how exposure duration directly impacts cardiac safety. While older adults still face elevated risks, the danger decreases with age.
March 31, 2025
Antidepressants linked to substantial increase in sudden cardiac death risk: Study
"Exposure time to
antidepressants was associated with a higher risk of sudden cardiac death, and
linked to how long the person had been exposed to antidepressants." — Dr.
Jasmin Mujkanovic
Antidepressants linked to
substantial increase in sudden cardiac death risk: Study
Researchers on Sunday showed that
compared with the general population with no history of antidepressant (AD)
use, individuals with a history of AD use have an increased risk of sudden
cardiac death (SCD), which varies based on age and time of exposure.
Key Points
1 Younger adults face higher SCD risk from antidepressants
2 Long-term AD use worsens cardiac dangers
3 Older groups still see elevated but reduced risk
4 Psychiatric patients already at double SCD risk
The causes in people under the
age of 39 are often a thickening of the heart muscle or an electrical problem
with the heart. In older people, SCD is more likely to be caused by a narrowing
of the blood vessels that supply the heart.
Previous research has shown that
patients with psychiatric disorders have an increased all-cause mortality as
well as double the risk of sudden cardiac death across all age groups.
However, the impact of
antidepressant exposure on SCD risk has so far been unclear.
In new research presented at
'EHRA 2025', a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology,
researchers now show that there is a link.
"Exposure time to
antidepressants was associated with a higher risk of sudden cardiac death, and
linked to how long the person had been exposed to antidepressants," said
study co-author Dr Jasmin Mujkanovic, Rigshospitalet Hjertecentret, Copenhagen,
Denmark.
Those exposed for 6 years or more
were at even more increased risk than those exposed for 1 to 5 years, when
compared with people unexposed to antidepressants in the general population,
Mujkanovic added.
In individuals aged 30-39 years,
compared with the unexposed general population, those with 1 to 5 years of
antidepressant exposure were around three times more likely to suffer sudden
cardiac death. This risk increased to five times higher for those with six or
more years of AD exposure.
In individuals aged 50-59 years,
compared with the unexposed general population, those exposed to
antidepressants for 1 to 5 years saw their risk of sudden cardiac death
doubled, while individuals exposed to antidepressants for 6 or more years had
four times the risk of sudden cardiac death.
The differences in risk
associated with varying periods of antidepressant exposure decreased in older
groups. In individuals aged 70-79 years compared to the unexposed general
population, those with 1-5 years AD exposure had a 1.83 or 83 per cent times
increased risk, whereas those with 6 years or more exposure had a 2.2 times
increased risk of SCD.
In individuals aged 40-79 years,
the SCD incidence rate ratio was significantly higher among persons with 6 or
more years of exposure to AD compared to persons with 1-5 years of exposure,
the study showed.
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