Antipsychotic Agents and Sudden Cardiac Death — How Should We Manage the Risk?

Antipsychotic medications are commonly used across the entire age spectrum, both within and outside their labeled (and evidence-based) indications.^1,2 Three atypical antipsychotic medications, olanzapine (Zyprexa, Eli Lilly), risperidone (Risperdal, Janssen), and quetiapine (Seroquel, AstraZeneca) are among the 10 top-selling drugs worldwide, with a combined sales volume of $14.5 billion in 2007.³ A thorough evaluation of risks is particularly important in the case of medications that are used so frequently and in such diverse patients, many of whom (e.g., children and the elderly) are particularly vulnerable. The effect of most antipsychotic medications on the electrophysiology of the heart has long . . .