Case Report: A rare case of symptomatic bradycardia secondary to aripiprazole in a patient with bipolar disorder type I [version 1; peer review: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations]

Abstract

It is well known that typical antipsychotic drugs have been implicated as a cause of ventricular arrhythmias and cardiac arrest; studies have shown that conventional antipsychotics increase the risk of hospitalization for ventricular arrhythmias or cardiac arrest nearly 2-fold. However, atypical antipsychotics are not associated with an increased risk of hospitalization for ventricular arrhythmias or cardiac arrest. The use of atypical antipsychotics increased since they were first discovered and now are the mainstay of treatment, but with their broad use, heart effects have been documented, such as prolonged QT interval. Clozapine has been linked to severe cardiac problems, and risperidone has been linked to an increased risk of ventricular arrhythmias and cardiac arrest. We present a case of a patient with bipolar disorder who presented with symptomatic bradycardia secondary to aripiprazole.

Keywords

• Bradycardia
• atypical antipsychotic
• Aripiprazole
• Bipolar disorder.
• eng