title: Which cardiac potassium channel subtype is the preferable target for suppression of ventricular arrhythmias?
abstract: Prolongation of the cardiac action potential duration is the hallmark of Class III antiarrhythmic activity. Action potential duration prolongation may be achieved by several means: enhancement of inward current and, more commonly, blockade of one or more of the many outward currents that are carried by K+. However, it is far from clear whether blockade of one particular K+ channel is more efficacious than blockade of another. The objective of this review is to consider this question with particular reference to ischaemic heart disease, a condition for which effective prevention of ventricular arrhythmias continues to be sought.
authors.affiliation: University Laboratory of Physiology, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rees
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Curtis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000188:drug therapy; D009206:Myocardium / Q000737:chemistry; D015221:Potassium Channels / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; D015221:Potassium Channels