Therapy of dysrhythmias

Abstract

Antidysrhythmic drug research has recently focused on developing agents whose primary electrophysiological action is to selectively prolong repolarization. The major impetus for the development of these ‘pure’ class III agents was the assumption that their smaller effects on conduction velocity and contractility would make them safer drugs than class I agents. In this article, we will review some recently discovered electrophysiological properties of class III drugs that may markedly limit their clinical utility. Lastly, a novel therapeutic approach that exploits the antidysrhythmic properties of endogenous adenosine is described.