Should lithium be stopped if bradycardia occurs?

Should lithium be stopped if bradycardia occurs?

Lithium is a medicine used for treatment of certain disorders psychiatric disorders. It can cause slowing of the heart rate  as well as the conduction within the heart and occasionally produce atrioventricular block. This can sometimes be severe enough to need a temporary pacemaker to give artificial electrical signals to the heart. Another mechanism by which lithium can slow down the heart is by hypothyroidism.

Lithium can cause reduced function of the thyroid gland known as hypothyroidism. When the thyroid hormone level in the blood is low, heart rate can come down. All these changes are reversible by discontinuing lithium. If the slowing of heart rate is significant enough to become dangerous, stopping of the drug and substituting it with another medication is advisable.