Modified method for the production of cardiac arrhythmias by ouabain in anesthetized cats

A modified method of producing ouabain-induced cardiac arrhythmias in chloralose-anesthetized cats has been developed, whereby prolonged arrhythmias with low incidence of mortality (12%) are observed. Furthermore, the employment of a modified arrhythmia scale in the present model allowed a quantitative estimation of antiarrhythmic efficacy of test drugs and also made it possible to unravel the arrhythmogenic nature of these substances. This improved method could be conveniently used for the quantitative screening of both the antiarrhythmic or the arrhythmogenic nature of test drugs.