Preliminary study of pirmenol in the treatment of ventricular arrhythmias.

The effects of pirmenol in the treatment of ventricular arrhythmias were studied in 6 patients with heart disease and in 11 control subjects. In the patients with heart disease, ventricular arrhythmias were associated with myocardial infarction in 3, with mild aortic stenosis in 2 and with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in 1. Pirmenol was administered in a 100 mg, 150 mg or 200 mg twice daily dosing schedule. Dosages were increased if necessary, until response, defined as greater than 70% suppression in the rate of premature ventricular contractions, occurred. Arrhythmia suppression was maintained in all 6 patients with heart disease at 52 weeks of follow-up.