Carbamazepine is an anticonvulsant that is commonly used in neurological and psychiatric patients to treat epileptic seizures, neuropathic pain, or bipolar disorder. Carbamazepine side effects, as well as side effects of many antiepileptic drugs, include cardiotoxic effects such as atrioventricular block, bradycardia, and cardiac rhythm disorders. However, carbamazepine has also been reported to have antiarrhythmic, normotimic, and membrane-stabilizing effects. This results in its administration to treat arrhythmias in children. Based on literature, carbamazepine administration as anti-arrhythmic drug is known in cases where the basic therapy was ineffective. The medication is not registered anywhere in the world for this purpose. Thus, it can be administered only off-label. The aim of our literature review is to analyze and summarize the existing data on carbamazepine effects on cardiovascular system, to determine its safety as anti-arrhythmic drug, and to describe various factors fostering its side effects.

Carbamazepine is a drug that  has  been used  for a long time to treat  various neurological and  psychiatric disorders. The drug has effect on  many  body  systems and,  in particular, on  the  cardiovascular. The cardiovascular effect of carbamazepine depends on several factors  such  as the  presence/absence of any comorbidities and its plasma concentration. The drug’s antiarrhythmic effect was demonstrated previously in a number of experimental and clinical studies. In this article, we would like to present the clinical case of pediatric patient with frequent ventricular extrasystoles and arrhythmogenic myocardial dysfunction. Several antiarrhythmic drugs were  ineffective in this patient, while carbamazepine administration contributed to the  decrease in ectopic activity up to minimal values.