Older Depression Meds Linked To Heart Disease

London, United Kingdom (AHN) – An older class of antidepressant medication has been linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a new study out of the United Kingdom.

Researchers with University College London said in a statement that tricyclic antidepressants were associated with a 35 percent increased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, the researchers said the risk was not present in newer types of depression medication, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

The study included 14,787 men and women without a known history of cardiovascular disease. The participants were surveyed in 1995, 1998 and 2003.

During an eight-year follow-up, there were 1,434 events related to cardiovascular disease, with more than 26 percent of the cases fatal. Of the study participants, 2.2 percent reported taking tricyclic, selective serotonin or other types of antidepressants in 1995, 2 percent in 1998 and 0.7 percent in 2003.

After adjusting for confounding factors, including indicators of mental illness, the researchers said they found there was a 35 percent increase of cardiovascular disease associated with tricyclic drugs.

Other side effects of tricyclic antidepressants include high blood pressure, weight gain and diabetes.

A full report on the study appears in the Dec. 1 edition of the European Heart Journal.

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