[Does amiodarone have a benefit effect on mortality?]

Amiodarone, an anti-ischaemic and anti-arrhythmic drug, has been the object of numerous studies and seems to be highly effective in the treatment of severe ventricular arrhythmias on dilated cardiomyopathies, as well as of hypertrophic or ischaemic heart diseases. Some studies have shown a decrease in the incidence of sudden death in patients under amiodarone, but most of these studies were conducted on limited series with an insufficiently strict methodology. Contrary to other antiarrhythmic agents, amiodarone seems to be devoid of significant proarrhythmic effect and of depressant effect on cardiac function. Its anti-ischaemic activity has been demonstrated in exercise-induced and spastic angina. The side-effects of amiodarone are mainly extracardiac, and they may be a source of concern when they produce dysthyroidism or pulmonary pathology; however, they can be detected, or even prevented, by careful monitoring. Owing to its mechanism of action and its potential effectiveness, amiodarone deserves to be studied in patients at high risk of sudden death, especially those who suffer from severe ventricular arrhythmia on ischaemic cardiopathy with or without ventricular dysfunction. Three extensive clinical trials have been devised to determine with accuracy the effect of amiodarone on the mortality of patients who have survived a myocardial infarction or present with heart failure. At the end of these trials, it will perhaps be possible to evaluate the influence of a long-term amiodarone treatment on the mortality of patients whose life expectancy is shortened. The results obtained will be weighed against the side-effects of the treatment to obtain a benefit/risk ratio which, for the time being, is imperfectly known.