Antidepressant Use Tied to Higher Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death, Study Reveals
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Sudden cardiac death (SCD) refers to an unexpected death of a person, believed to be caused by a heart-related issue. It occurs within one hour of the onset of symptoms in witnessed cases or within 24 hours of the person being last seen alive in unwitnessed cases. 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 show 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 SCD, which varies based on age and time of exposure.
The authors examined all deaths. Deaths were categorised as non-SCD or SCD based on the available information. Exposure to AD was defined by redemption of a prescription for AD medication at least twice in one year over a period of 12 years before the year of follow-up (2010). Furthermore, exposure time was divided into two groups: 1 to 5 years and 6 or more years.
A total of 643,999 inhabitants were exposed to AD medication prior to the year of follow-up. There were 1,981 sudden cardiac deaths in the AD cohort and 4,021 in the unexposed general population. The incidence rate ratio of SCD was significantly higher in the exposed groups compared to the general population across all age groups except for the age group 18-29 years, for whom the association was not statistically significant. 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.
The researchers highlighted that the 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. 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.
Ref: Use of antidepressant medication linked to substantial increase in risk of sudden cardiac death. European Society of Cardiology. 30 Mar 2025
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