Propafenone for the treatment of severe ventricular arrhythmias.

Twenty-one patients whose severe ventricular arrhythmias were not controlled by other currently used antiarrhythmic agents or who were intolerant of those drugs were treated with a new antiarrhythmic agent, propafenone. This therapy was associated with complete or nearly complete suppression of premature ventricular beats in 15 (71%) of the patients, satisfactory control in 4 (19%) and no control in 2 (10%). The majority reported no adverse effects. The most frequent complaints were nausea or epigastric discomfort (in five patients) and lightheadedness or dizziness (in three patients). Thus, propafenone appeared to be an effective antiarrhythmic agent with an acceptable frequency of side effects when administered to patients whose ventricular arrhythmias were difficult to treat.