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The Role of Newer Antiarrhythmic Drugs

Koonlawee Nademanee, MD; Bramah N. Singh, MD, PhD, FRCP

JAMA. 1982;247(2):217-222.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

THE APPROACH to the management of disorders of cardiac rhythm has undergone major changes in the last ten years.^1,2 The early experience with surgery and with pacemakers suggests that these modes of therapy hold much promise; however, it is unlikely that they will have a major appeal for the largest numbers of patients needing antiarrhythmic therapy.¹ Drug therapy is therefore likely to remain the mainstay of long-term antiarrhythmic treatment for both supraventricular as well as ventricular tachyarrhythmias.

Clinicians have long sought the "ideal" antiarrhythmic agent, one that has a wide spectrum of therapeutic efficacy, is potent, well tolerated by the patient while having little or no side effects, but with pharmacokinetics appropriate for long-term prophylaxis. Although the discovery of such a compound still appears elusive, many new drugs are now being evaluated in the United States.^3,4 Their investigational use is growing, and some are likely to be approved . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
From the Department of Cardiology, Wadsworth Veterans Administration Medical Center, and the Department of Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles.

Footnotes
This article is one of a series sponsored by the American Heart Association.

Reprint requests to the Cardiology Section (691/111E), Wadsworth Veterans Administration Medical Center, Wilshire and Sawtelle boulevards, Los Angeles, CA 90073 (Dr Singh).

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