(January 14, 2009 - Insidermedicine) Newer antipsychotic drugs are associated with as much of an elevation in the rate of sudden cardiac death as are the older drugs, according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Here is some information about antipsychotic drugs:

•    They are most frequently prescribed for major psychiatric conditions that involve psychosis.

•    The first wave of antipsychotic drugs that were developed came to be known as typical antipsychotics.

•    Another wave of antipsychotic drugs was later developed. These worked a little differently and were dubbed atypical antipsychotics.

Researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center calculated the incidence of sudden cardiac death among nearly 45,000 current users of typical antipsychotics, over 46,000 current users of atypical antipsychotics, and a control group of 186,600 matched nonusers.

Those taking typical antipsychotic drugs experienced sudden cardiac death about twice as often as those not taking antipsychotic drugs, while those taking atypical antipsychotics experienced it about 2.3 times as often. For both types of antipsychotic drugs, the higher the dose being taken, the greater the likelihood of sudden cardiac death.

We had a chance to speak with Dr. Wayne Ray, the principal investigator of this study, who offered some further insight.

Today's research demonstrates that atypical antipsychotic drugs are no safer than typical ones with respect to the risk for sudden cardiac death.

For Insidermedicine in Depth, I'm Dr. Susan Sharma.