Long term-treatment of ventricular tachycardia in ambulatory patients with amiodarone.

The antiarrhythmic effects of amiodarone hydrochloride 200 to 600 mg/daily were studied in 25 patients with ventricular tachycardia (VT). The arrhythmia was registered on a 24 hours two channel Holter recording. This study was performed before and after one month treatment with the drug. The adequate suppression of the VT was observed in 25 patients. The drug showed a total suppression of ventricular ectopic activity in 10 patients (40%) (4 at a dose of 200 mg/daily, 5 at 400 mg/daily and 1 at 600 mg/daily) and a satisfactory reduction (total suppression of couplets and VT and more than 85% reduction of premature ventricular beat frequency) in 12 patients (48%) (6 at a dose of 200 mg/daily, 5 at a dose of 400 mg/daily and 1 at a dose of 600 mg/daily). After a mean follow up of 15.9 months on continuous amiodarone therapy there have been no recurrences of arrhythmia on Holter recordings. No patient died during the study. Side effects were minimal and limited to corneal microdeposits at slit lamp examination without impairment of visual acuity. According to our results amiodarone is an excellent and safe agent for the treatment of complex ventricular arrhythmias.