Ativan and Sudden death unexplained - a phase IV clinical study of FDA data

Summary:

Sudden death unexplained is reported as a side effect among people who take Ativan (lorazepam), especially for people who are female, 60+ old, also take Risperdal,.

The study is created by eHealthMe based on reports of 74,376 people who have side effects when taking Ativan from the FDA, and is updated regularly.

What is Ativan?

Ativan has active ingredients of lorazepam. It is often used in stress and anxiety. eHealthMe is studying from 78,506 Ativan users. Check the latest studies of Ativan.

On Aug, 12, 2026

74,376 people reported to have side effects when taking Ativan.
Among them, 13 people (0.02%) died.

Could Ativan cause Sudden death unexplained?

Among these 13 people:

What is the gender of people who died when taking Ativan? *

female: 69.23 %
male: 30.77 %

What is the age of people who died when taking Ativan? *

What are other drugs people take besides Ativan? *

What are other side effects people have before they died? *

Cardiac Arrest: 4 people, 30.77%
Pulse Absent: 3 people, 23.08%
Blood Urea Increased: 2 people, 15.38%
Collapse (sudden functional breakdown): 2 people, 15.38%
Catatonia (unresponsive to external stimuli): 2 people, 15.38%
Cardio-Respiratory Arrest (sudden dysfunction of heart and lungs): 2 people, 15.38%
Fever: 2 people, 15.38%
Sedation: 2 people, 15.38%
Blood Albumin Decreased: 1 person, 7.69%
Apnea (temporary absence or cessation of breathing): 1 person, 7.69%

* Approximation only. Some reports may have incomplete information.

Related studies:

Effectiveness of, long term effects of, and alternative drugs to Ativan:

Ativan (78,506 reports)

Expand to all the drugs that have ingredients of lorazepam:

Sudden death unexplained and drugs with ingredients of lorazepam

Sub-studies by gender and age:

Female: 0-1 2-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

Male: 0-1 2-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

Browse all side effects of Ativan:

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Browse all the drugs that are associated with Sudden death unexplained:

Sudden death unexplained (181 drugs)

Browse all the conditions that are associated with Sudden death unexplained:

Sudden death unexplained (24 conditions)

How the study uses the data?

The study uses data from the FDA. It is based on lorazepam (the active ingredients of Ativan) and Ativan (the brand name). Other drugs that have the same active ingredients (e.g. generic drugs) are not considered. Dosage of drugs is not considered in the study.

How to use the study?

DO NOT STOP MEDICATIONS without first consulting your doctor. If there are any serious or long term adverse effects discovered in the study, discuss the study with your doctor to ensure that proper medication management will be in place if applicable.

Who is eHealthMe?

With medical big data and proven AI/ML algorithms, eHealthMe provides a platform for everyone to run phase IV clinical trials. We study millions of patients and 5,000 more each day. Results of our real-world drug study have been referenced on 800+ peer-reviewed medical publications, including The Lancet, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, and Nature. Our analysis results are available to researchers, health care professionals, patients (testimonials), and software developers (open API).

WARNING, DISCLAIMER, USE FOR PUBLICATION

WARNING: Please DO NOT STOP MEDICATIONS without first consulting a physician since doing so could be hazardous to your health.

DISCLAIMER: All material available on eHealthMe.com is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment provided by a qualified healthcare provider. All information is observation-only. Our phase IV clinical studies alone cannot establish cause-effect relationship. Different individuals may respond to medication in different ways. Every effort has been made to ensure that all information is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. The use of the eHealthMe site and its content is at your own risk.

If you use this eHealthMe study on publication, please acknowledge it with a citation: study title, URL, accessed date.