arrhythmia and zoloft

Posted By Cathy Dunne on May 10, 1998 at 00:07:03:







I was diagnosed 5 years ago as having dual aval nodal pathways.  But as
far as I know, I've only gone into arrhythmia twice in my life --
the first time was by accident (I ran up a hill and came to a complete stop),
and the second time was precipitated by a shot of adrenalin -- it was
during the catheterization procedure to see what was up with my heart.  
Last week I started taking zoloft -- an anti-depressant -- and felt as if
I was having heart "problems."  My heart felt like it was pounding; I felt
sharp pains in my heart every hour or so; one night, I even felt
shooting pains in  my left arm.  Yet, my pulse rate was normal
-- between 48 and 60.  (my pulse rate is normally low because I'm a runner.)
I've since gone off the zoloft (without my psychiatrist's approval --
but he doesn't believe zoloft shd do this) and feel better.
Have you heard of anti-depressants such as zoloft causing arrhythmias in
people w/ my condition?  Should I avoid anti-depressants altogether (i.e.,
if zoloft does this, will prozac, too?  What abt. St. John's wort?)
Thanks for your help.
Cathy