Relationship between body mass index and blood pressure elevation during electroconvulsive therapy

Study Objective: To evaluate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure (BP) elevation during electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Design: Descriptive epidemiological study. Setting: Operating room of a university-affiliated hospital. Patients: All patients who received ECT at the Tokyo Metropolitan Hiroo Hospital from May 2005 to March 2009. Interventions: All patients received routine ECT treatment. Measurements: Systolic BP (SBP) elevation during ECT, BMI, baseline SBP, age, electroencephalographic seizure duration, ECT stimulating dose, diagnosis, and gender were all recorded. Main Results: Patients with higher BMI tended to have greater SBP elevation after ECT. There was no correlation between elevated SBP and other factors. The degree of elevation of SBP after ECT was linearly related to BMI. Conclusion: BMI correlates with BP elevation during ECT. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.