[Comparative study of the effectiveness of several anti-arrhythmia preparations in patients with a frequent...

The efficiency and side effect rates of 7 antiarrhythmic drugs: mexitil, rhytmilen, propranolol, ethmosine, cordarone, finoptin, digoxin, were compared in 80 patients. Their heart rhythm was controlled by continuous Holter ECG monitoring. The efficacy of oral doses of the drugs was assessed both in acute pharmacologic tests and in short-term clinical courses. The smallest side-effect rates and the highest efficiency were shown by cordarone (in all clinical samples) and ethmosine (particularly in coronary patients), hence both can be recommended for long-term clinical use.