Ventricular Premature Depolarizations. Who To Treat? Current Concepts.

Abstract

Frederick Price wrote in his textbook of Practice of Medicine in 1937 : “the question of prognosis of extra systole is of some consequence - Apart from rare exceptions - when extra systoles are considered by themselves - that is, ‘without reference to the condition with which they may be associated - there is so far no evidence for supposing that they are indicative of an impaired beart, or that they add to the gravity of any existing morbid condition - The prognosis therefore, should be based entirely upon the casual associated conditions.

We have tried to describe the three types of ventricular arrhythmias’ and the implications that they canote. However, it is beyond the scope of this essay to review pharmacology and pharmacokinetics of antiarrhythmic drugs and we refer the reader to recent reviews on this subject at the end of this essay. However, the
following table will hopefully give broad guidelines as to the pharmacotherapeutic management of patients with ventricular premature contractions.