Posted by yxibow on January 18, 2009, at 3:26:32
In reply to Risk of sudden death?, posted by Deneb on January 18, 2009, at 2:26:47
> I read people who take new antipsychotics still have an increased risk of death from heart problems.
>
> I read 2 out of 1000 people die suddenly and that the risk is doubled.
>
> How worried should I be? I take Risperdal.If you're really worried about this why not get an EKG some time soon or at your next physical/doctor's appointment? Do you have heart troubles, or in your family ? Have you had any other history of QTc prolongation ?
If one out of every 500 people died suddenly from no drug related cause this country would have quite a declining population rate. I'm not quite sure where that statistic came from?
I know there was a finding from some journal in the past few days that yes, QTc prolongation is quite possible in atypicals just as it can happen in old line antipsychotics. On the other hand, Geodon was retested in a 4000 person study and the risk was found to be very minimal. Mellaril, an old antipsychotic, still continues to be used, even though it carries a much greater risk of QTc prolongation.
If the conclusion of the study was that one out of every 250 patients died suddenly I don't think there would be any antipsychotics on the market. That's a pretty extreme scenario.
I think what you're referring to is Torsades de Pointes, that was associated in Geodon and some other antipsychotics, although the original study in Geodon placed it around 1 in 4000 and I believe the study that put it back on the market concluded that it was less than that.
I think there are risks and side effects that are greater with Risperdal such as fairly high EPS and up to a 5% risk of tardive disorders. That doesn't mean that you will get any of the above especially at a minimum effective dose (MED).
I'm not trying to minimize your concern, but life is inherently both filled with risks and benefits.
So while prudence is always a good thing, I don't think that if Risperdal is working well for you that you should worry about sudden death. Yes, the chance of death is always greater in heart patients and elderly people, that is the facts of life, but going to sleep worried that you won't see the sun is not very productive I think.
In an average marathon something like 1 out of 200,000 people statistically can die. The risk of dying from cancer from chronic cigarette smoking is fairly high, depending how long one lives. As is the risk of car crashes vs. airplane travel. It comes down I think to an ultimate feeling of wanting control.
And I can understand that because control is a feeling of empowerment over your life.I guess I'm just trying to put it in perspective that everything has its risks, but never following paths can leave one behind.
Millions of people by now have taken Risperdal, it is one of the oldest atypicals and is now generic.
I hope I've offered some possible ways of viewing things and of course I wish you the best whatever choice you want to make.
-- tidings
Jay
poster:yxibow
thread:874659
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090104/msgs/874667.html