Key result
Antidepressant therapy can be safely prescribed to depressed elderly patients with stable cardiac conditions when physicians understand their cardiac side effects.
Knowledge of the cardiac side effects of antidepressants allows primary care physicians to safely prescribe them to elderly patients with stable cardiac conditions.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Supports cautious antidepressant use in stable cardiac elderly; leaves open need for randomized trials.
Elderly patients are at high risk for both depression and cardiovascular disease. Withholding antidepressant therapy from an elderly patient who has a stable cardiac condition is usually unjustified. Knowledge of the cardiac side effects of commonly used antidepressants enables the primary care physician to prescribe these agents safely for depressed elderly patients.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
J Davenport (1988) studied this question. Antidepressant therapy can be safely prescribed to depressed elderly patients with stable cardiac conditions when physicians understand their cardiac side effects.
Synapse has enriched 10 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: