Successful control of refractory ventricular premature beat with an estrogen-progesterone compound

Drug resistant ventricular premature contractions (VPCs) in a 35-yr-old woman were successfully controlled with a contraceptive agent containing estrogen-progesterone. The VPCs in this patient always showed an R on T phenomenon resulting in occasional short run of ventricular tachycardia. Apart from the VPCs, her ECG exhibited no abnormalities. The family history revealed 9 instances of sudden unexpected death over 3 generations. The findings of myocardial biopsy of the right ventricular endocardium were characteristic of cardiomyopathy. This report discusses the possibility that a contraceptive agent successfully suppressed VPCs in a particular woman who showed a close relation between a certain period of her menstrual cycle and the occurrence of VPCs.