Flecainide prevents catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia in mice and humans.
Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) is a potentially lethal inherited arrhythmia syndrome in which drug therapy is often ineffective. We discovered that flecainide prevents arrhythmias in a mouse model of CPVT by inhibiting cardiac ryanodine receptor-mediated Ca(2+) release and thereby directly targeting the underlying molecular defect. Flecainide completely prevented CPVT in two human subjects who had remained highly symptomatic on conventional drug therapy, indicating that this currently available drug is a promising mechanism-based therapy for CPVT.
Watanabe
Hiroshi
H
Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Chopra
Nagesh
N
Laver
Derek
D
Hwang
Hyun Seok
HS
Davies
Sean S
SS
Roach
Daniel E
DE
Duff
Henry J
HJ
Roden
Dan M
DM
Wilde
Arthur A M
AA
Knollmann
Björn C
BC