Hypertension and antidepressants

• hypertension is an uncommon side effect of antidepressant treatment; hypertension occurs in less than 1% of cases and severity ranges from mild to life-threatening; also antidepressant treatment can exacerbate hypertension in those with existing disease
  
  
• there should be routine measurement of blood pressure before, and occasionally during, a treatment course with antidepressants; this should even be undertaken in patients with no prior history of hyper- or hypo- tension (1)
  
  
• selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and tricyclic antidepressants; hypertension occurs very rarely with these drugs (less than 0.01% of cases) and is generally clinically insignificant
  
  
• roboxetine - the incidence of hypertension in clinical trials is 3%; not clinically significant from placebo but may be important if a patient has pre-existing hypertension
  
  
• monoamine oxidase inhibitors and venlafaxine are described in the menu items

Reference:

• 1) Prescribers' Journal 2000; 40 (2): 169-174.