Depressive subtypes, blood pressure changes and response to treatment.

Blood pressure changes during treatment with an intravenous tricyclic (chlorimipramine) were systematically assessed on twenty depressed patients diagnosed as primary or secondary affective disorders according to research diagnostic criteria. Patients with primary affective disorder showed a significantly greater decline in systolic blood pressure during this treatment than patients with secondary affective disorder. The decline in the blood pressure paralleled clinical improvement. Differential changes in blood pressure appear to be one more instance of constitutional differences for depressive subtypes, and may prove to be practical and reliable predictors of treatment response to tricyclic antidepressants.