Circulatory effects in man of nortriptyline,a tricyclic antidepressant drug

Summary In 40 depressed patients treated with 25 or 50 mg nortriptyline (NT) t. i. d. for 3 weeks the following circulatory variables were observed prior to and during drug therapy: heart rate and blood pressure at rest (in supine and standing positions), working capacity, ECG at rest and during exercise on a bicycle ergometer. During administration of NT the heart rate increased significantly at rest in both supine and standing positions, but the orthostatic heart rate reaction remained unchanged. Diastolic blood pressure in the supine position rose slightly; in the standing position the pretreatment increase in diastolic pressure was abolished. The positive chronotropic effect did not correlate with the steady-state plasma level of NT. In one patient on NT a right bundle branch block appeared during the work test; in the remaining 39 patients the ECG records at rest and during exercise showed no adverse effects of NT.