Vienna Vienna: A new study presented at the EHRA 2025 conference of the European Society of Cardiology reveals a worrying relationship between the use of antidepressants (AD) and the increasing risk of sudden heart death (SCD), especially for those who use the drug for a long time.

Sudden heart death, which is defined as unexpected death due to heart - problems, usually occurs within an hour of the onset of symptoms or within 24 hours in cases without witnesses.

For individuals under 39 years of age, the primary cause is often the thickening of the heart muscle or electrical problems of the heart, while in older individuals, it is more likely to be associated with narrowed blood vessels.

Previous studies have shown that individuals with mental disorders are at greater risk of both overall mortality and sudden heart death. However, the specific effect of antidepressant drugs at SCD risk has so far been unclear.

The latest research conducted by scientists in Denmark investigated death between residents between the ages of 18 to 90 in 2010, reviewing the death certificate and the autopsy report.

The study found that individuals coming in contact with anti -seded drugs were much higher than a sudden heart death than those who do not use such drugs.

The group of �643,999 individuals, which was given anti -seded drugs, was made from the general population, with 4.3 million residents.

Among the people coming in contact with antidepressant drugs, 1,981 cases of sudden heart death were registered, while 4,021 cases were registered in a group without contact.

People consuming anti -depressive drugs had a high risk of SCD in all age groups, with a remarkable difference based on the duration of risk.

When data was adjusted to age, gender, and co-integrity, it was found that individuals who had consumed anti-seditious drugs for 1 to 5 years were 56 percent higher than the normal population.

Those who used medicines for six or more years faced 2.2 times more risk.

The study further stated that young people were more affected by the use of antidepressants for a long time.

For people aged 30–39, the risk of sudden heart death was about three times higher when exposed to antidepressant from 1 to 5 years, and up to five times more for those using antidepressants for six or more years.