Key features of depression and its management in general practice.
 
  "..Everything is ok in
that department.."

In considering alternate treatments, which of the following statements are true of antidepressants treatment and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in this context?
1. Tricyclic antidepressants cause orthostatic hypotension.
2. Tricyclic antidepressants are recommended for people with ischaemic heart disease.
3. The adverse effects of SSRIs usually settle within the first one or two weeks of treatment.
4. If adverse effects are persistent, it is best to switch to another class of antidepressants.
5. Patients with cardiac disease are at increased risk of cardiovascular complications during ECT.
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1. Tricyclic antidepressants cause orthostatic hypotension. Author's answer: True Tricyclic agents cause orthostatic hypotension and cardiac conduction disturbances. In combination with diuretics, vasodilators, or benzodiazepines, their effect on blood pressure is exaggerated. In toxic levels they may precipitate ventricular arrhythmias, but at therapeutic doses they exhibit type 1A antiarrhythmic properties, similar to those of quinidine.