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Amiodarone Treatment in Patients with Ventricular Arrhythmias

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Summary

Amiodarone has been used in the therapy of supraventricular and ventricular tachycardia, and has often been categorised as a class III rather than a class I agent, However, in patients with ventricular arrhythmias, amiodarone 800mg daily for 14 days prolonged the right ventricular effective refractory period by a mean of 18,8 msec (p < 0,05), and HV interval by a mean of 5,2 msec (p < 0,05), these changes being similar to those noted with drugs such as quinidine, procainamide, disopyramide and encainide

The antiarrhythmic efficacy of amiodarone was evaluated in 196 patients with recurrent sustained ventricular tachycardia, recurrent ventricular fibrillation or recurrent nonsustained ventricular tachycardia, Coronary artery disease, dilated (congestive) cardiomyopathy, or other forms of heart disease were present in most patients, After 1 month of therapy, 177 patients continued to receive amiodarone and, during the remainder of the follow-up period, 139 patients had no recurrence of spontaneous ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation, Sudden cardiac death occurred in 15 patients after a mean treatment period of 10,4 months, Overall, amiodarone was an effective form of therapy in patients with ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Krannert Institute of Cardiology, Indiana University School of Medicine, and Roudebush Veterans Administration Medical Center, 1001 West Tenth Street, Indianapolis, Indiana, 46202, USA

    Eric N. Prystowsky MD, James J. Heger, William M. Miles & Douglas P. Zipes

Authors
  1. Eric N. Prystowsky MD
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  2. James J. Heger
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  3. William M. Miles
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  4. Douglas P. Zipes
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Additional information

Amiodarone is marketed by Sanofi Labaz under the trademarks Cordarone (France), Cordarex (Germany), Cordarone-X (UK), Trangorex (Spain), Amiodar (Italy)

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Prystowsky, E.N., Heger, J.J., Miles, W.M. et al. Amiodarone Treatment in Patients with Ventricular Arrhythmias. Molecular Diagnosis 29 (Suppl 3), 47–52 (1985). https://doi.org/10.2165/00003495-198500293-00007

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2165/00003495-198500293-00007

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