Clinical Management of Cardiovascular Risks During Treatment With Psychotropic Drugs

The treatment of schizophrenia—as well as dementia, psychotic depression, and bipolar disorder—was greatly improved by the development of new atypical antipsychotic drugs in the past decade.However, cardiovascular and metabolic risks that are associated with some of these agents havebecome worrisome to clinicians and researchers. In this article, I will review psychotropic and otheragents that have been associated with cardiovascular changes during treatment. Screening for cardiacvulnerability at baseline, as well as at regular intervals during treatment if the patient has certain riskfactors, is important when treating patients with psychotropic agents.