Effects of Electroconvulsive Therapy on the Electrocardiogram in Geriatric Patients with Stable Cardiovascular Diseases

Eight elderly patients (mean age +/- SD, 73.2 +/- 9.5 years) were studied with Holter electrocardiographic monitoring for 24 h before and 24 h after an electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) treatment. Patients with a history of cardiac disease but who were not experiencing any active cardiac symptoms were chosen for study. They were not receiving either cardioactive medications or psychotropic agents that can effect cardiac rhythm or conduction. Each patient served as his own control, with direct comparison of the periods before and after the treatment. There were no differences before and after ECT in the electrocardiogram. One minute after the seizure, patients were hypertensive and tachycardic. ECT does not appear to pose additional risk in stable, elderly patients with a history of cardiac disease.