title: Proarrhythmic effects of procainamide and tocainide in a canine infarction model.
abstract: A canine model of myocardial infarction (MI) was used to study the type and frequency of ventricular antiarrhythmic and proarrhythmic effects due to procainamide and tocainide and the risk factors associated with development of proarrhythmia. An anterior MI was created by a 2-h occlusion of the left anterior descending artery (LAD) with complete reperfusion. Programmed ventricular stimulation was performed on two occasions after MI, on days 4-6 and on days 8-10, before drug and during antiarrhythmic drug infusion at three dose levels. The antiarrhythmic drugs were given in a randomized cross-over design. Only procainamide caused a dose-dependent increase in QRS, JTc, and right ventricular effective refractory period (ERP). Neither procainamide nor tocainide made sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) noninducible, but procainamide slowed the tachycardia rate. Both drugs successfully made ventricular fibrillation (VF) noninducible: procainamide in 78% of trials and tocainide in 50% of trials. Proarrhythmia (development of inducible VT during drug when not present before drug or inability to terminate VT during drug administration) developed in 29% of dogs that received procainamide and 25% of dogs that received tocainide. There was no apparent correlation of QRS, JTc, and right ventricular ERP after drugs and proarrhythmia due to procainamide or tocainide. There was no significant difference in the size of MI between dogs with one or more proarrhythmic response to either drug and dogs that had no proarrhythmia. In this model, procainamide and tocainide had no antiarrhythmic efficacy for VT, but had moderate proarrhythmia potential that was unpredictable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York.
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Steinberg
authors.forename: D I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Sahar
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rosenbaum
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Bigger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000139:chemically induced*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D004285:Dogs; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004562:Electrocardiography; D004594:Electrophysiology; D006321:Heart / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000187:drug effects; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011342:Procainamide / Q000633:toxicity*; D016677:Tocainide / Q000633:toxicity*; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000503:physiopathology; D016276:Ventricular Function
chemical_list: D016677:Tocainide; D011342:Procainamide