title: Perspectives: does amiodarone increase non-sudden deaths? If so, why?
abstract: Despite the antiarrhythmic efficacy of amiodarone, a definitive correlation between amiodarone treatment and increased non-arrhythmic mortality in patients with heart failure and depressed ventricular function has been reported. Results from research in the field of cardiac resynchronization therapy in heart failure may provide some explanations to this observation. We discussed the hypothetical link between amiodarone and non-arrhythmic mortality, which might have a cause--effect relationship, based on cardiac electromechanical disarrangement provoked by electrophysiological properties of amiodarone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, University Hospital, Magdeburg, Germany. angelo.auricchio@medizin.uni-magdeburg.de
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Auricchio
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nisam
authors.forename: H U
authors.initials: HU
authors.lastname: Klein
mesh_terms: D000638:Amiodarone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003645:Death, Sudden / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality*
chemical_list: D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; D000638:Amiodarone