Investigation Concerning Palpitation and Tachycardia due to Cilostazol in Secondary Prevention of Lacunar Infarcts

Cilostazol is the first antiplatelet agent to have evidence of efficacy in the secondary prevention of lacunar infarcts.However,since some patients develop palpitation and tachycardia after having taken cilostazol,we decided to investigate the occurrence of these adverse effects.We found that cilostazol significantly increased pulse rate as compared with before administration in 65.3% of patients and the rate for palpitation was 12.2% and that for tachycardia 24.5%.The incidences of these adverse effects were greater than those reported in the clinical trial on cilostazol.Also,28.6% of patients had discontinued cilostazol due to adverse effects such as palpitation,tachycardia,headache,brain infarction relapse,and decreased blood pressure.As the rates for adverse effects of cilostazol were higher than those stated in past package inserts,it is necessary to monitor patients for their appearance.We must also provide them with up-to-date information on the adverse effects that could appear.