A recent study suggests that taking antidepressants could elevate the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). This finding was presented at the European Society of Cardiology’s scientific conference, EHRA 2025.
SCD occurs when a patient experiencing sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) cannot be successfully resuscitated, typically resulting in death within an hour. It accounts for roughly half of all cardiovascular-related fatalities.
Previous research has indicated that individuals with heart conditions are more prone to depression. Not only is depression a risk factor for SCD, but the use of antidepressants may also increase SCD risk, depending on the patient’s age and duration of medication use.
Experts caution that antidepressants commonly prescribed for mental health disorders like depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can cause QT prolongation. This condition delays heart contraction and relaxation, potentially leading to arrhythmias and, in some cases, increasing the risk of SCD.
To investigate this further, researchers analyzed medical records and death certificates of Danish adults aged 18 to 90 from 2010. They categorized participants based on SCD occurrence and antidepressant use duration (1-5 years or 6+ years).
The study found that participants who took antidepressants for 1 to 5 years had a 56% higher risk of SCD. More alarmingly, those who used antidepressants for over 6 years faced a 2.2 times greater risk.
While longer antidepressant use appears to correlate with increased SCD risk, researchers noted the difficulty in determining whether this is due to the medication itself or the severity and chronicity of the underlying depression.
The study also revealed age-related differences in the association between antidepressant use and SCD risk.
For the participants aged 30-39, those taking antidepressants for 1-5 years had a threefold higher SCD risk compared to non-users. This risk jumped fivefold for those using antidepressants for over 6 years.
Among 50-59-year-old participants, SCD risk doubled for those on antidepressants for 1-5 years and quadrupled for those using them for over 6 years. In the 40-79 age group, long-term users (6+ years) showed significantly higher SCD rates than shorter-term users (1-5 years).
While antidepressant users in each age group had a higher SCD risk than non-users, the researchers emphasized that the 30-39 age group on antidepressants still had a lower absolute SCD risk than the 70-79 age group not taking these medications.
This underscores that while younger antidepressant users may face a higher relative SCD risk compared to their peers, their absolute risk remains lower than that of older adults.
The research team stressed that antidepressant users should not panic. They pointed out that depression itself is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and SCD. Multiple factors contribute to SCD risk, making it impossible to state conclusively that antidepressants directly increase this risk.
They explained that while antidepressant-induced arrhythmias could lead to SCD, it’s also possible that depression itself exacerbates other cardiovascular risk factors, resulting in SCD.
Further research is needed to investigate the mechanisms by which antidepressants might influence SCD risk.
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