TY - JOUR
T1 - Long-Term Antiarrhythmic Therapy in Survivors of Prehospital Cardiac Arrest
T2 - Initial 18 Months' Experience
AU - Myerburg, Robert J
AU - Conde, Cesar
AU - Mallon, Stephen M.
AU - Castellanos, Agustin
AU - Briese, Franklin W.
AU - Liberthson, Richard R.
PY - 1977/12/12
Y1 - 1977/12/12
N2 - Ambulatory rhythm monitoring and chronic arrhythmia management were studied in 16 patients resuscitated from prehospital cardiac arrest. Asymptomatic complex ventricular arrhythmias (ACVA) occurred in 12 patients (75%) entering long-term follow-up during the first 12 months (average follow-up, 13.25 months). The patients' therapy consisted of a dose-adjusted, membrane-active antiarrhythmic drug regimen monitored by blood levels. While there has been little change in the frequency of ACVAs despite carefully controlled antiarrhythmic management, only one death has occurred during 212 patient-months of postarrest follow-up, a 6% one-year mortality. This compares favorably to our previous experience in survivors of prehospital cardiac arrest not receiving a controlled antiarrhythmic program. Despite the failure to suppress ACVAs, the drug-monitored population is showing a trend toward a decreased frequency of recurrent cardiac arrest.
AB - Ambulatory rhythm monitoring and chronic arrhythmia management were studied in 16 patients resuscitated from prehospital cardiac arrest. Asymptomatic complex ventricular arrhythmias (ACVA) occurred in 12 patients (75%) entering long-term follow-up during the first 12 months (average follow-up, 13.25 months). The patients' therapy consisted of a dose-adjusted, membrane-active antiarrhythmic drug regimen monitored by blood levels. While there has been little change in the frequency of ACVAs despite carefully controlled antiarrhythmic management, only one death has occurred during 212 patient-months of postarrest follow-up, a 6% one-year mortality. This compares favorably to our previous experience in survivors of prehospital cardiac arrest not receiving a controlled antiarrhythmic program. Despite the failure to suppress ACVAs, the drug-monitored population is showing a trend toward a decreased frequency of recurrent cardiac arrest.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84943727048&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84943727048&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1001/jama.1977.03280250047021
DO - 10.1001/jama.1977.03280250047021
M3 - Article
C2 - 579198
AN - SCOPUS:84943727048
VL - 238
SP - 2621
EP - 2624
JO - JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association
JF - JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association
SN - 0002-9955
IS - 24
ER -