Why the study?
Does beta-blockade therapy improve suppression of ventricular extrasystoles and survival compared to conventional antiarrhythmic agents in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy?
Does beta-blockade therapy improve suppression of ventricular extrasystoles and survival compared to conventional antiarrhythmic agents in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy?
Beta-blockade therapy provides significant antiarrhythmic benefits, improves left ventricular function, and increases 12-month survival in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy compared to conventional antiarrhythmic agents.
Antiarrhythmic effects of beta-blockade (BB) in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy were compared with those of various antiarrhythmic agents using ambulatory Holter monitoring. The BB therapy effectively suppressed ventricular extrasystoles (VEs) in 85% of patients, as evidenced by improvement in Lown's grade or a reduction in the number of the highest grade VEs greater than 50%. In contrast, conventional antiarrhythmic agents, except flecainaid and amiodarone, were poorly effective in suppressing VEs. BB therapy gradually increased left ventricular fractional shortening (16 +/- 6% to 22 +/- 12%) and improved 12-month survival rates as compared with those receiving conventional therapy (93 vs 69%). This antiarrhythmic potency seemed to be an additional therapeutic efficacy of BB in the management of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, which frequently associated with serious VEs.
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Kihara et al. (1992) studied this question.
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