Am J Psychiatry 1982; 139:1114-1117
Copyright © 1982 by American Psychiatric Association
Cardiovascular and antidepressant effects of imipramine in the treatment of secondary depression in patients with ischemic heart disease
M Raskind, R Veith, R Barnes and G Gumbrecht
The authors report on 12 men with ischemic heart disease who developed
secondary depression following myocardial infarction or coronary artery
bypass-graft surgery and were treated with imipramine hydrochloride for 4
weeks. Imipramine had an antiarrhythmic effect, manifested by reduction in
premature ventricular contractions during treatment. This drug did not
produce clinically significant disturbances in cardiac conduction, but
orthostatic hypotension led to early termination of the drug treatment in 1
subject. Imipramine treatment was associated with significant improvement
in both observer-rated and patient-rated depression scales.
