Carbamazepine induced bradycardia – A problem in general or only in susceptible patients? A 24-h long-term electrocardiogram study
Kennebäck G, Bergfeldt L, Tomson T, Spina E, and Edhag O (1992) Carbamazepine induced bradycardia – A problem in general or only in susceptible patients? A 24-h long-term electrocardiogram study. Epilepsy Res 13:2 141–5.
Abstract: Carbamazepine is a first line drug in the treatment of epilepsy and trigeminal neuralgia, but may exert negative chronotropic and dromotropic effects on the cardiac conduction system. Bradyarrhythmias of different types and severity have been described, especially in the elderly, but the prevalence of arrhythmias in a larger group of carbamazepine treated patients is unknown. Forty-eight patients, 40 years of older, on continuous carbamazepine treatment because of various neurologic disorders were investigated by interview, physical examination, 12-lead surface electrocardiogram, and 24-h long-term electrocardiogram recording. The prevalence of bradyarrhythmias was compared with that in an age-stratified reference group. There was no differences between the two groups, either in the number or the duration of pauses or in the type of pauses. In conclusion, carbamazepine does not increase the risk of bradyarrhythmias in the vast majority of patients.
Keywords: Carbamazepine; Cardiac function; Arrhythmia; Bradycardia; Electrocardiogram
Context
- Study using interview, exam, EKG, and 24 hour monitoring of 48 patients taking CBZ in comparison with age-matched controls. No increased risk of bradycardia was observed (cf. Kennebäck et al.).