New drugs in the management of ventricular arrhythmias

New antiarrhythmic drugs are chiefly assigned to Class 1C and 1B: "procainamide analogues" (acecainide, lorcainide, flecainide, encainide) and propafenone for the former, and mexiletine, tocainide and aprindine for the latter. Pharmacokinetics vary widely among the different antiarrhythmic agents. These and other problems which regulate therapeutic interventions, such as patient compliance, drug interactions, efficacy/toxicity ratio, drug combinations, and drug monitoring with plasma concentrations of antiarrhythmic agents are briefly considered.