Antipsychotic Drugs May Raise Heart Attack Risk

A new study suggests that antipsychotic drugs may raise the risk of heart attacks in older patients with dementia. 

Researchers at the Universite Bordeaux Segalen in France examined about 11,000 patients aged 66 and older in Quebec who had cholinesterase inhibitors and took antipsychotics for dementia. They found that within one year of starting to take the antipsychotics, 1.3 percent of the participants had a heart attack, according to HealthDay. 

"The increased risk seems to be highest at the beginning of treatment and seems to decrease thereafter, with the first month of treatment accounting for the highest period of risk," wrote the researchers. 

Despite the evidence documented, the study - which was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine -  could not find a definitive cause-and-effect relationship between the drugs and heart attacks. Researchers concluded that further research is required to learn more about why the risk of heart attack increased in dementia patients who use antipsychotic drugs. 

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