Question Title: Depakote and Dysrythmia

I have been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder I and am taking 500mg of Depakote daily. He wants me to take more because he says I'm not on a therapeutic level yet. I trust my Psychiatrist but have been bothered by short stabbing chest pains and a sensation that my heart beat is irregular - as if my heart beat was delayed. I've not yet told my psychiatrist about these symptoms, simply because I thought it was merely something to do with anxiety and that if I really tried hard enough to control anxiety, the symptoms would go away. However, eleven years ago my gp told me that my heart beat was irregular and that I had a murmur - the extent of testing was an EKG. Through careful attention to diet and exercise, the irregular heart beat (although experienced from time to time) was nothing that bothered me.

My problem now, is that on the Depakote, I am having symptoms all the time, particularly at night when I go to sleep. Could the Depakote be causing some of this? Should I have my heart more thoroughly checked out? I don't want to pursue expensive testing if this seems like a phantom problem of a 45 year old anxious woman in very good health otherwise (no smoking, excessive drinking, and noncafeine tea drinker) , but my family has had a history of irregular heart beats. ( My younger sister, has had damage to 1/4 of her heart - drs. told her the good news was that it wasn't caused by heart disease).

Susan,

I first recommend that you see your primary care physician for a thorough medical check-up, to make sure there are no medical reasons for your chest pain and irregular heart-beat. This is very important, considering your history of heart murmur, and family history of heart disease. Chest pain and irregular heart-beat would be unusual side-effects of Depakote. I encourage you to discuss your concerns further with your treating psychiatrist.

This response is for general information only. Always contact your physician for any health concerns.

Keywords: Depakote, arrhythmia