© 2003 Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine
ADVERSE DRUG REACTION
Clozapine associated dilated cardiomyopathy
Cardiology Department, Kingston Hospital NHS Trust
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr Mark Tanner, Cardiology Department, Kingston Hospital, Galsworthy Road, Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey KT2 7QB, UK;
marktanner{at}lycos.co.uk
A 31 year old white man was referred for investigation of a persistent sinus tachycardia. His only significant past medical history was of chronic schizophrenia for which he had been taking clozapine for six years. An electrocardiogram demonstrated sinus tachycardia, voltage criteria for left ventricular hypertrophy, and a prolonged QTc. Echocardiographic findings were consistent with a dilated cardiomyopathy. Serious cardiac complications of clozapine use are rare but have been reported previously. It is important to note that sinus tachycardia may be the only obvious clinical sign, and that complications can manifest months or even years (as in this case) after starting the drug. Patients on clozapine should be informed of potential cardiac symptoms and doctors should maintain a high degree of clinical suspicion throughout the duration of treatment.
Keywords: cardiomyopathy; clozapine; myocarditis; sinus tachycardia
Abbreviations: CSM, Committee on Safety of Medicines; ECG, electrocardiogram; QTc, corrected QT interval
CiteULike 
Complore 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Digg 
Reddit 
Technorati What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
-
Pastor, C. A., Mehta, M.
(2008). Masked Clozapine-induced Cardiomyopathy. J Am Board Fam Med
21: 70-74
[Abstract] [Full Text]
eLetters:
Read all eLetters
- Clozapine associated with myocarditis and cardiomyopathy
- Detlef Degner, et al.
- Postgrad Med J Online, 18 Nov 2003 [Full text]
- Full Text
- Full Text (PDF)
- Submit a response
- Read responses to this article
- Alert me when this article is cited
- Alert me when eLetters are posted
- Alert me if a correction is posted
- Citation Map
Services
- Email this link to a friend
- Similar articles in this journal
- Similar articles in PubMed
- Add article to my folders
- Download to citation manager
- Request Permissions
Citing Articles
Google Scholar
PubMed
Topic Collections
Bookmark with
Register for free content
The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.
Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.
