[Long-term drug therapy in ventricular cardiac arrhythmias. Is an improvement of the prognosis possible?].

Oral long-term treatment with various antiarrhythmic drugs (aprindine, mexiletine, disopyramide, amiodarone) was assessed in 82 patients with recurrent tachycardias demonstrated in the ECG using programmed ventricular stimulation. It was shown that sudden cardiac death and recurrence of tachycardia were clearly reduced in the group of patients (n = 29) in whom drug treatment prevented ventricular tachycardia following electric stimulation. Amiodarone was demonstrated to be the most effective substance in this respect, notwithstanding some side effects.