Does Haloperidol Increase Risk Of A Stroke?

Posted on Wed, 23 Jul 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 23 Jul 2014 Answered on

Fri, 8 Aug 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : Dear Doctor, I've been told that the use of haloperidol is associated with an increased risk of stroke. Is O.25 mg IM haloperidol every 9 hours for delirium relatively safe in this regard? If the patient is highly delirious then is there a higher dose that could be relatively safely administered? At what dosage level would the risk of stroke be likely to be unacceptable? The patient is unable to tolerate an oral intake and is being treated for suspected sepsis and probable pneumonia. Please see patient details below.

Answered by Dr. Ram Choudhary (3 hours later)

Brief Answer:
patient is too sick for haloperdol

Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Welcome to healthcare Magic!
Haloperidol itself does not cause stroke. It can cause movement disorder called extra pyramidal syndrome, that subsided after discontinuation of haloperidol.
Some patients have long QT in ECG and may develop serious cardiac arrhythmias with haloperidol.
Your patient is drowsy and is not fit to receive haloperidol anymore.
The cause of drowsiness should be treated, if patient is not conscious enough to protect airway then he should be intubated.
Check if he is having Hyponatremia, hypoglycemia or hypothyroidism, if so they should be corrected.
I hope the advise would be informative and useful for you.
Take Care!

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Bhagyalaxmi Nalaparaju