A nurse suffered a fatal cardiac arrest after being prescribed a fatal combination of three common drugs. Her death has prompted doctors in the UK to issue an urgent warning over prescribing a combination of three common medicines. Thirty-four-year-old Chloé Elizabeth Burgess died in Southampton after being prescribed a deadly mix of antidepressants, a medicine to treat an abnormally fast heartbeat and branch block—all of which cause the heart to beat really fast.

Chloé was also taking amitriptyline, a tricyclic antidepressant, sold as Elavil, and paroxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, or SSRI, known under the brand name Seroxat.

According to experts, neither of the drugs should be given to be people with heart problems, as they may make them worse or cause dangerous heart rhythm issues. The Sun reported that doctors who were treating Chloé were not aware that the three drugs could make a lethal combination.

A coroner wrote in his report: “She had been using the combination of drugs for four years before she died without concern. The potential dangers of the combination of drugs in Chloé’s case were not well known or appreciated by those treating her."

The three medications the nurse had been prescribed likely interacted with each other to raise the levels of amitriptyline in her blood.

And so, as a result, Chloe suffered from sleep apnea - when breathing stops and starts during sleep—inducing severe cardiac arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death. "The potential dangers related to a failure to metabolise amitriptyline, which can, incrementally, lead to toxicity," the coroner’s report added. The coroner also flagged a number of issues in Chloé's case, which he fears can even lead to further deaths if not mitigated. "In my opinion, there is a risk that future deaths could occur unless action is taken," he wrote.

Experts say any kind of medication—be it allopathic pills or syrups, herbal remedies, or vaccines—is commonly referred to as an adverse drug reaction. There are many side effects linked to the way the medicine works to treat a patient. For example, the medicines known as beta-blockers treat high blood pressure by acting on particular sites in the muscles of blood vessels, causing the muscles to relax, and reducing blood pressure. But it also acts on the same type of sites in the heart, which may cause some unwanted symptoms in some people, like slowing of heartbeat.

Some side effects are not clearly linked to how the medicine works in the body, so they are more unpredictable.

Different patients may respond in different ways to the same medicine, and so it's very difficult to predict whether a patient will experience any side effects.

A few common side effects would include:

• Constipation
• Diarrhoea
• Dizziness
• Drowsiness
• Dry mouth
• Headache
• Insomnia
• Nausea
• Rashes

Serious adverse reactions may include:

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