Department of Psychiatry

SIDE EFFECTS AND RISKS

The side effect of ECT that has received the most attention is memory loss. ECT results in two types of memory loss. The first involves rapid forgetting of new information. For example, shortly after the treatment, patients have difficulty remembering conversations or things they have recently read. This type of memory loss is short lived and has not been shown to last for more than a few weeks after the completion of ECT.

The second type of memory loss concerns events from the past. Some patients will have gaps in their memory of events that occurred in the weeks to months and, less commonly, years before the treatment course. This memory problem also improves after the completion of ECT. However, permanent gaps in memory may exist for some events, particularly those that occurred close in time to the treatment.

As with any treatment, patients differ in the extent to which they experience side effects, and more extensive memory loss has been reported. It's important to note that the benefits of ECT are not related to memory loss – that is, patients don't feel better simply because they can't remember something. Furthermore, relief through ECT of a psychiatric disorder can result in improved intelligence, attention and learning ability.

As for other side effects and risks, scientific evidence strongly speaks against the possibility of ECT causing brain damage. Careful studies in animals have shown no evidence of brain damage from brief seizures such as those given with ECT. In an adult, seizures must continue for hours before brain damage occurs while, the ECT seizure lasts only about 1 minute. Brain scans after ECT have shown no injury to the brain. During ECT, the amount of electricity that reaches the brain is too small to cause electrical injury.

It is estimated that death associated with ECT occurs in 1 out of 10,000 patients. This rate may be higher in patients with severe medical conditions and is most closely associated with the use of anesthesia, just as it would be with any minor procedure. Because of this strong safety record, ECT is often recommended to treat mental disorders in patients with serious medical conditions.