Clinical management of cardiovascular risks during treatment with psychotropic drugs.

The treatment of schizophrenia--as well as dementia, psychotic depression, and bipolar disorder--was greatly improved by the development of new atypical antipsychotic drugs in the past decade. However, cardiovascular and metabolic risks that are associated with some of these agents have become worrisome to clinicians and researchers. In this article, I will review psychotropic and other agents that have been associated with cardiovascular changes during treatment. Screening for cardiac vulnerability at baseline, as well as at regular intervals during treatment if the patient has certain risk factors, is important when treating patients with psychotropic agents.