Observational study does not find increased cardiac death with venlafaxine

January 01, 0001

Observational study does not find increased cardiac death with venlafaxine

There has been concerned raised of increased risk of sudden cardiac death with the use of the antidepressant venlafaxine. This multinational group of researchers sought to address this concern with a nested case-control analysis within a cohort of new adult users of venlafaxine, fluoxetine, citalopram, or dosulepin formed with the United Kingdom General Practice Research Database. Participants starting in 1995 were followed-up until 2005 or the occurrence of sudden cardiac death or near death. For each case, 30 controls were selected matched for age, gender, calendar time, and indication.

The researchers report: "207,384 participants were followed-up for an average of 3.3 years. There were 568 cases of sudden cardiac death or near death, which were matched to 14,812 controls. The adjusted odds ratio of sudden cardiac death or near death associated with venlafaxine use was 0.66 relative to fluoxetine use, whereas compared with citalopram it was 0.89 and with dosulepin 0.83."

They concluded: "In this large, population based study, the use of venlafaxine was not associated with an excess risk of sudden cardiac death or near death compared with fluoxetine, dosulepin, or citalopram, in patients with depression or anxiety."

This large study is an important, if not definitive, piece of evidence in the debate over the cardiac safety of venlafaxine.

For the full abstract, click here.

BMJ 340:c249, 5 February 2010 © 2010 Martinez et al.
Use of venlafaxine compared with other antidepressants and the risk of sudden cardiac death or near death: a nested case-control study. Carlos Martinez, Themistocles L Assimes, Daniel Mines, Sophie Dell’Aniello, and Samy Suissa. Correspondence to: Samy Suissa: [email protected]

Category: K. Circulatory, P. Psychological. Keywords: venlafaxine, antidepressants, depression, anxiety, sudden cardiac death, nested case-control, journal watch.
Synopsis edited by Dr Paul Schaefer, Toledo, Ohio. Posted on Global Family Doctor 5 March 2010

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