According to a recent warning issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Forest Laboratories’ popular antidepressant, Celexa, can interfere with the heart’s pumping action when used in high doses. Federal health regulators are urging doctors not to prescribe the drug in doses over 40 milligrams. Previously, the label for Celexa indicated that some patients should receive 60 milligrams of the drug, but the FDA has now eliminated that language based on the results of recent studies linking the higher dosage to heart problems. The drug’s new label now includes new dosage instructions, as well as an indication that the product should not be used by patients with congestive heart failure or by those with any other conditions that can negatively affect the heart’s pumping action.
