This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 0269881106059696v1 20/4/589    most recent References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Aichhorn, W. Articles by Whitworth, A. B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Aichhorn, W. Articles by Whitworth, A. B. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Cardiomyopathy after long-term treatment with lithium – more than a coincidence?

Department of Psychiatry, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria.

R. Huber

Department of Internal Medicine, PMU Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria.

C. Stuppaeck

A. B. Whitworth

Department of Psychiatry 1, PMU Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria.

We describe a patient suffering from dilative cardiomyopathy after 16 years of treatment with lithium carbonate. The literature concerning lithium and cardiac adverse reactions is briefly reviewed. There is good evidence for acute cardiac reactions, especially cardiac arrhythmia but a rather speculative association with long-term reactions such as cardiomyopathy. Nevertheless clinicians should be aware of this rare but life threatening conjunction of cardiac disease and lithium treatment.

Key Words: lithium • cardiomyopathy • bipolar disorder • adverse drug reactions

This version was published on July 1, 2006

Journal of Psychopharmacology, Vol. 20, No. 4, 589-591 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0269881106059696


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?