Nifedipine linked with cardiac arrest

European study shows increased risk of out-of-hospital arrest with higher doses of the drug

Patients on higher doses of nifedipine could be at greater risk of cardiac arrest caused by arrhythmias, a large European study suggests.

Patients taking 60mg/day or more of nifedipine were up to two times more likely to have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest than patients not using dihydropyridines, according to data from more than 61,000 patients in the European Sudden Cardiac Arrest network.