Mirtazapine Reduces ICD Shocks in ICD Patients With Depression and Anxiety

Universidad Nacional de Rosario

Status: Completed

Conditions: Depression; Anxiety

Treatments: Drug: mirtazapine

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT00960830

PS990

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to evaluate if the use of antidepressant medication in depressed patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillator reduces the number of ICD's shocks as it improves depressive affect.

Full description

episodes of arrhythmia remain present even after icd implantation, this is specially true in depressed patients. it is hypothesized that improving mood state by means of an antidepressant drug . namely mirtazapine. could be responsible of alleviating the number of appropriate shocks delivered by the cardioverter. this could be due to a direct effect of the drug itself or an indirect effect of improving anxious and depressive affect. the mood and anxiety state are measured with the HADS scale

Enrollment: 40 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 65 to 87 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• cardioverter implanted patients
• depression
• anxiety

Exclusion criteria

• heart failure
• other diseases reducing physical fitness

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Factorial Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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40 participants in 2 patient groups, including a placebo group

mirtazapine

Placebo Comparator group

Treatment:

Drug: mirtazapine

Drug: mirtazapine

mirtazapine, sugar pill

Placebo Comparator group

Treatment:

Drug: mirtazapine

Drug: mirtazapine