Bepridil hydrochloride for treatment of benign or potentially lethal ventricular arrhythmias.
To define the efficacy and safety of a new once-a-day calcium antagonist, bepridil, 21 patients with frequent ventricular premature complexes (VPCs) underwent a 14-day inpatient monitored trial. After Holter monitoring during placebo administration, patients underwent 2 days of a loading dose of bepridil followed by 12 days of bepridil, 400 mg/day. Holter monitoring during therapy showed that 10 patients (48%) had more than a 70% reduction in VPC frequency and 8 of 16 patients (50%) at least a 95% reduction in frequency of nonsustained ventricular tachycardia. Gastrointestinal and central nervous system side effects considered to be mild occurred in 13 patients (62%). One patient had an asymptomatic increase in VPC frequency and another had sustained ventricular tachycardia associated with a loading dose of 900 mg of bepridil. Thus, bepridil has moderate antiarrhythmic efficacy in patients with ventricular arrhythmias, but further definition of its potential for causing proarrhythmia must be determined.
D015764:Bepridil; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005117:Cardiac Complexes, Premature / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D011759:Pyrrolidines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013610:Tachycardia / Q000188:drug therapy*
D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D011759:Pyrrolidines; D015764:Bepridil