Indications for Antiarrhythmic Therapy: A Wealth of Controversy, A Dearth of Data

Editorials1 March 1988Indications for Antiarrhythmic Therapy: A Wealth of Controversy, A Dearth of DataRAYMOND L. WOOSLEY, M.D., Ph.D.RAYMOND L. WOOSLEY, M.D., Ph.D.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-108-3-450 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptFew situations in medicine are comparable to that involving antiarrhythmic drugs, in which so many potentially toxic agents are given to so many patients without proof of benefit. Will using this class of drugs parallel the experience with antihypertensives, for example, or will they pass into antiquity with practices like treatment of fever with purgatives? For years, physicians prescribed antihypertensives with the hope that control of this risk factor would improve mortality. We now know that control of severe hypertension by any means provides clinical benefit by reducing the incidence of stroke, myocardial infarction, and renal failure (1, 2). However,...References1. . Effects of treatment on morbidity in hypertension I. Results in patients with diastolic blood pressures averaging 115 through 129 mm Hg. JAMA. 1967;202:1028-34. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. . Effects of treatment on morbidity in hypertension II. Results in patients with diastolic blood pressure averaging 90 through 114 mm Hg. JAMA. 1970;213:1143-52. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. . Coronary heart disease death, nonfatal acute myocardial infarction and other clinical outcomes in the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial. Am J Cardiol. 1986;58:1-13. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. MASONWINKLE JR. Electrode-catheter arrhythmia induction in the selection and assessment of antiarrhythmic drug therapy for recurrent ventricular tachycardia. Circulation. 1978;58:971-85. 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Google Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited ByTime to arrhythmic, ischemic, and heart failure events: Exploratory analyses to elucidate mechanisms of adverse drug effects in the Cardiac Arrhythmia Suppression TrialOrg 7797: A New and Unusual Antiarrhythmic AgentClinical evaluation of bidisomide, a new class I antiarrhythmic: Initial intravenous dose-finding studyLong-Term follow-up in patients with incessant ventricular tachycardiaSpontaneous variability in ventricular ectopic activity during chronic antiarrhythmic therapy.Use of Ambulatory Electrocardiographic (Holter) MonitoringJohn P. DiMarco, MD, PhD, John T. 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Flecainide Supraventricular Tachycardia Study Group.The inverse relationship between baseline left ventricular ejection fraction and outcome of antiarrhythmic therapy: A dangerous imbalance in the risk-benefit ratioAcute myocardial infarction 1 March 1988Volume 108, Issue 3Page: 450-452KeywordsAntihypertensivesDrug therapyDrugsFeversHypertensionMedical risk factorsMortalityMyocardial infarctionRenal failureToxic agents Issue Published: 1 March 1988 PDF DownloadLoading ...