What is bad about electroconvulsive therapy?
As with any type of medical procedure, especially one that involves anesthesia, there are risks of medical complications. During ECT, heart rate and blood pressure increase, and in rare cases, that can lead to serious heart problems. If you have heart problems, ECT may be more risky.
Is ECT worth the risk?
Risk Assessment of Electroconvulsive Therapy in Clinical Routine: A 3-Year Analysis of Life-Threatening Events in More Than 3,000 Treatment Sessions. Background: Extensive research has reported that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) can be highly effective in approximately 80% of patients suffering from depression.
What is the average mortality rate with ECT?
Conclusion: The ECT-related mortality rate was estimated at 2.1 per 100 000 treatments. In comparison, a recent analysis of the mortality of general anesthesia in relation to surgical procedures reported a mortality rate of 3.4 per 100 000. Our findings document that death caused by ECT is an extremely rare event.
Is ECT life threatening?
The NHS say that ECT is generally safe. The death rate following ECT is less than that for other minor surgical procedures. There is no evidence that having ECT is more dangerous than any other procedure needing a general anaesthetic.
Can ECT damage your brain?
The review of literature and present evidence suggests that ECT has a demonstrable impact on the structure and function of the brain. However, there is a lack of evidence at present to suggest that ECT causes brain damage.
Who should not get ECT?
For example, children under age eleven cannot undergo ECT for mental health disorders. People with heart conditions and people who cannot handle short-acting sedatives or muscle relaxers should not undergo ECT treatments. In pregnant patients, ECT does not pose any serious risk to the fetus, or the expectant mother.
Can ECT cause permanent damage?
Advocates of ECT treatment deny it causes brain damage, although a manufacturer of ECT machines includes “permanent brain damage” as a risk.
Can ECT change your personality?
ECT does not change a person's personality, nor is it designed to treat those with just primary “personality disorders.” ECT can cause transient short-term memory — or new learning — impairment during a course of ECT, which fully reverses usually within one to four weeks after an acute course is stopped.
Is shock therapy still used in 2021?
July 19, 2021, at 8:14 a.m. MONDAY, July 19, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- "Shock" therapy often helps lift severe depression, but fear and stigma can deter patients from getting it. Now a large new study is confirming the treatment's safety.