Electrophysiological assessment of amiodarone in treatment of resistant supraventricular arrhythmias.

Oral amiodarone has been used to treat 21 patients with various supraventricular arrhythmias; 13 had Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which was complicated by atrial fibrillation and re-entry atrioventricular tachycardia in four, and re-entry tachycardia alone in the other nine. The remaining eight patients had paroxysmal atrial fibrillation or flutter without pre-excitation. All were refractory to conventional treatment and had undergone intracardiac electrophysiological study. Fifteen have been controlled with amiodarone, this treatment proving most effective in atrial fibrillation or flutter with or without pre-excitation. Amiodarone was successful in only four of the nine patients with re-entry atrioventricular tachycardia. In two patients who responded well the drug had to be discontinued because of side effects.