Pharmacotherapy of Cardiac Arrhythmias-Basic Science for Clinicians

Cardiac arrhythmias occur in approximately 5.3% of the population and contribute substantially to morbidity and mortality. Pharmacological therapy still remains the major approach in management of patients with nearly every form of cardiac arrhythmia. Effective and safe management of cardiac arrhythmias with antiarrhythmic drugs requires understanding of basic mechanisms for various cardiac arrhythmias, clinical diagnosis of an arrhythmia and identification of underlying cardiac diseases, pharmacokinetics, and antiarrhythmic properties of each individual antiarrhythmic drug. Most cardiac arrhythmias occur via one of the two mechanisms: abnormal impulse formation and reentry or both. Antiarrhythmic drugs primarily work via influencing cardiac automaticity or triggered activity or by their effects on effective refractoriness of cardiac cells. Proarrhythmic effects of antiarrhythmic drugs are also briefly discussed in this review article. (PACE 2009; 32: 1454-1465)