Stroke Related to Anti-depression Drugs

Antidepressants increase the risk of stroke

When combining antidepressants with oral anticoagulants, the relative risk of intracranial bleeding is increased by 56%

A new meta-analysis shows that the use of selective inhibitors of serotonin reuptake is associated with increased risk of stroke and intracranial bleeding.
The analysis of the results of 16 observational studies involving 500 000 participants showed that the primacy of antidepressants in this group increased by 51 per cent the risk of intracranial hemorrhage and with 42 per cent risk of intracerebral hemorrhage.
Given the extremely low number of people who actually had suffered, Dr. Daniel Hakam, co-author of the study advises for caution when making conclusions. According to him, the actual increase in risk is very small. The conclusion of the study is that anyone who needs antidepressants should not be denied them. Generally, they are safe, and the risks of untreated depression are much higher.
For patients who have other risk factors, however, such as intake of lowering blood clotting drugs, alcoholism or have experienced a stroke, doctors can consider alternative treatment. When combining antidepressants with oral anticoagulants, the relative risk of intracranial bleeding is increased by 56 per cent compared with the use of anticoagulants only.
Dr. Emery McGrath and Dr. Martin O’Donnell from the Galloway University, Ireland, commented that this shows the importance of proper patient selection and avoidance of inappropriate prescribing, especially for those people who have increased risk of bleeding. They also point out that the use of agents with a high affinity for serotonin receptor is associated with a higher risk of bleeding than agents with lower affinity. Therefore the doctors recommend the use of newer agents with lower affinity in patients with increased risk.

Source : dailyhealtharticles[dot]com