[Comparative efficacy of amiodarone and propranolol on ventricular arrhythmia in the post-infarction period]

Beta-blockers are known to be effective against post-infarction ventricular arrhythmias and amiodarone has recently been shown to have this property. The purpose of this prospective randomized study was to compare the effects of beta-blockers and amiodarone during the first 6 months following infarction. Nine days after the onset of myocardial infarction, 97 patients were put on either amiodarone (48) or propranolol (49). Holter monitoring was performed on four occasions: on the 7th post-infarction day (baseline), then on the 21st, 90th and 180th days (under treatment). On D7 the two groups were similar in age, sex, risk factors, medical history, characteristics of the infarction and type of arrhythmia. For result analysis purposes the patients were divided into two categories depending on whether their arrhythmia was "moderate" (less than 10 monomorphous and isolated ventricular extrasystoles per hour) or "severe" (at least 10 ventricular extrasystoles per hour, or polymorphous or repetitive ventricular extrasystoles). Concerning the frequency of "severe" arrhythmia, there was no statistical difference between the two treatment groups on D7 (p = 0.53), but differences in favour of amiodarone became increasingly important during the study (p = 0.08 on D21; p = 0.07 on D90; p = 0.04 on D180).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)