Antipsychotics may be toxic to the heart

Data from an international review suggest that a wide range of antipsychotic drugs can result in heart muscle damage.

Rare conditions such as myocarditis and cardiomyopathy were more common in users of antipsychotics than non users. The heart toxicity of the drug clozapine is not new, and this analysis found it to be among the most often reported in relation to heart muscle toxicity. By using a database of almost 2.5 million reports of adverse effects, the researchers were able to identify an even wider range of antipsychotics with similar heart toxicity, including chlorpromazine, lithium, fluphenazine, risperidone and haloperidol (BMJ, 2001; 322: 1207-9).

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