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Current cardiology reports
Nov, 1999;1 (4): 268-73.

Is primary antiarrhythmic drug therapy for ventricular arrhythmias obsolete?

R Cooley, M Akhtar, J Sra
Author Information
  1. R Cooley: Milwaukee Heart Institute, 960 North 12th Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233, USA.
PMID: 10980853 DOI: 10.1007/s11886-999-0049-1

Abstract

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) remains a major public health threat. Patients with aborted SCD have a high incidence of recurrent life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. Antiarrhythmic drug approaches dominated early attempts to prevent SCD; however, several trials with sotalol and amiodarone revealed an unacceptably high rate of recurrent arrhythmic events. With the advent of the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), the primary role of antiarrhythmic drug therapy for the secondary prevention of SCD has been called into question. Two recently completed trials, the Antiarrhythmics Versus Implantable Defibrillators (AVID) trial and the Canadian Implantable Defibrillator Study (CIDS), confirm the superiority of the ICD over the best medical therapy for saving lives.

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MeSH Term

Amiodarone
Anti-Arrhythmia Agents
Death, Sudden, Cardiac
Defibrillators, Implantable
Humans
Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
Recurrence
Sotalol
Tachycardia, Ventricular
Ventricular Fibrillation

Chemicals

Anti-Arrhythmia Agents
Sotalol
Amiodarone
Journal Article Review

Word Cloud

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