[Antiarrhythmic effect of propafenone in relation to serum concentration and conduction time (author's transl)]

7 patients with stable cardiac dysrhythmias (ectopic beats of ventricular origin) received a single oral dose of 900 mg Propafenone. Besides the antiarrhythmic effect of propafenone the effect on changes of PQ- and QRS duration as well as the corresponding serum concentration was measured. A significant correlation between changes of PQ-time and serum concentration (r = 0.6810, p less than 0.001) was found. The half-life of serum level was 3.6 +/- 0.2 h, that of PQ-time prolongation 3.8 +/- 0.6 h. A complete suppression of all ectopic beats has been achieved in all treated patients for 6--8 hours.