- Feeling a little down, a little anxious? Odds are a trip
to the doctor will land you a prescription for an antidepressant. And if
you are worried about major side effects, you'll most likely be
told, why, millions of folks take SSRI drugs like Prozac and they have
a great safety profile. In fact, people who are depressed after a heart
attack are often put on the drugs because, the reasoning goes, depression
can hurt the heart so the drugs must help the heart.
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- Right? Turns out, the answer is dead wrong. In fact,
antidepressants may be dangerous for people with no known heart problems,
according to research just published in March issue of the Journal of the
American College of Cardiology (ACC).
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- However, if you quickly just read the press release put
out by the ACC (http://www.eurekalert.org/emb_releases/2009-03/acoc-fda030609.php),
you might come away with the impression the study's conclusions were primarily
about depression being linked to heart problems in women. And the study
does show a solid connection between depression and sudden cardiac
death (SCD) and fatal coronary heart disease (CHD) in women without any
previously discovered heart problems. But what is downplayed in the press
release spin is that the women with the highest risk for SCD
and fatal CHD had the most depressive symptoms or were taking antidepressants.
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- Most importantly, according to the research headed by
William Whang, M.D., M.S., Division of Cardiology, Columbia University
Medical Center, the risk of cardiac death --including dropping dead
suddenly -- was associated more strongly with being on antidepressant drugs
than with experiencing symptoms of clinical depression.
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- Whang and his colleagues researched 63,469 women from
the Nurses Health Study who had exhibited no earlier signs of stroke
or heart disease during a follow-up between the years of 1992 and 2004.
To determine which women had clinical depression, Whang and his research
team gauged self-reported symptoms of depression as well as the use
of antidepressant medications such as Prozac.
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- The women who were deemed to be the most seriously depressed
were identified by the use of a 5-point mental health index score of less
than 53 or because they were taking prescription antidepressants.
The scientists didn't find an association between antidepressant
use and fatal CHD or nonfatal heart attack . Instead , they discovered
a relationship between antidepressant use and serious heart rhythm problems,
including those that cause death suddenly, and without warning, from cardiac
arrest.
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- In a statement to the media, Sanjiv M. Narayan, M.D.,
F.A.C.C., University of California, San Diego, who co-authored an editorial
with Murray Stein, M.D., which runs along with the study in the Journal
of the American College of Cardiology , said: "These data indicate
the link between depression and serious heart rhythm problems may be more
complex than previously thought. It raises the question of whether this
association may have something to do with the antidepressant drugs used
to treat depression."
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- Is the idea these drugs could be causing potentially
deadly heart rhythm problems really such a big question? Just take a look
at Prozac-maker Eli Lily's own very long and wordy package insert
for physicians and you'll find a host of potential cardiac side effects:
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- * Frequent: hemorrhage, hypertension, palpitation
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- * Infrequent: angina pectoris, arrhythmia, congestive
heart failure, hypotension, migraine, myocardial infarct, postural hypotension,
syncope, tachycardia, vascular headache
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- * Rare: atrial fibrillation, bradycardia, cerebral embolism,
cerebral ischemia, cerebrovascular accident, extrasystoles, heart arrest,
heart block, pallor, peripheral vascular disorder, phlebitis, shock, thrombophlebitis,
thrombosis, vasospasm, ventricular arrhythmia, ventricular extrasystoles,
ventricular fibrillation.
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- (http://pi.lilly.com/us/prozac.pdf?reqNavId=undefined)
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- "We can't say antidepressant medications were the
cause of higher risk of sudden cardiac death. It may well be that use of
antidepressants is a marker for worse depression," lead researcher
Whang, said in a statement to the media. "Our data raise more questions
about the mechanisms by which depression is associated with arrhythmia
and cardiac death."
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- His data raises the most questions about why scientists
are tip-toeing around the obvious: SSRI antidepressants (and, in fact,
other antidepressant medications in other drug families) have long been
known to impact the cardiovascular system. Isn't it time to admit these
drugs may literally break the hearts of those the meds are supposed to
help?
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- Sherry Baker
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- Comment
- Gayle Eversole, BSc
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- Severe serotonin syndrome (SSS) can be life-threatening
and fatal because of the cardiac irregularites it causes.
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- Signs and symptoms include:
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- High fever
- Seizures
- Irregular heartbeat
- Unconsciousness
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- PEPSI may be going to use real sugar but bewarre
as it is all going to be coming from GMO sugar beets... (http://food.aol.com/new-pepsi)
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- Gayle Eversole, DHom, PhD, MH, NP, ND
-
- Founder and Director, http://leaflady.org/
- Creating Health Institute and
- http://simply4health.org/
- The Oake Centre for natural health education
-
- Creators of
- http://simply4health.org/Details_A-X.htm
- ADVENTURX, the original xtreme sports supplement for
muscle fatigue
-
- Visit us at http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/
- Natural Health News
-
- "Not to know is bad. Not to want to know is worse.
Not to hope is unthinkable. Not to care is unforgivable." - Nigerian
saying
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