Open AccessAntipsychotic Medication and QT Prolongation
Author(s) -
Mahnoor Javed
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
pakistan journal of medical sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1682-024X
pISSN - 1681-715X
DOI - 10.12669/pjms.315.8998
Subject(s) - medicine , torsades de pointes , qt interval , prolongation , ventricular fibrillation , antipsychotic , cardiology , atrial fibrillation , anesthesia , intensive care medicine , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , psychiatry
The QT interval represents ventricular depolarisation and repolarisation. Prolongation of this interval can lead to life-threatening complications. These can include arrhythmias such as Torsades de Pointes and Ventricular Fibrillation, which may ultimately lead to death. Many risk factors have been identified in prolonging the QT interval, one of which is medication commonly used in the treatment of Psychiatric ailments. This article describes Antipsychotic drugs causing prolonged QT interval and the possible underlying mechanisms alongside the current best practice on the management of this potentially fatal complication.