[Anti-arrhythmic activity of trimecaine under experimental and clinical conditions]

The antiarrhythmic properties of trimecaine, a local anesthetic, were studied. Tests on cats and rats with arrhythmia induced by stimulation with electric current and injection of aconitine, barium chloride, and calcium chloride as well as on a cell model of aconitine arrhythmia have shown that trimecaine possesses marked antiarrhythmic properties. It is more active and less toxic than procainamide hydrochloride or quinidine. Oral administration of 0.35% trimecaine solution had a favourable therapeutic effect in extrasystole in patients with complex heart valvular diseases and circulatory disorders. It is presumed that parenteral injection will produce a more rapid and prolonged antiarrhythmic effect.