ABSTRACT
Antiarrhythmic effects of cordarone, ethacizine, and obsidan were evaluated in 30 patients with chronic alcoholism in whom premature ventricular contractions were recorded at a rate of at least of 5 per minute by 30-minute ECG monitoring when they were admitted to a narcologic hospital, having the alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Cordarone, ethacizine, and obsidan were found to reduce the total number of premature ventricular contractions by 90% or more within an hour after their single intravenous injection in 80, 100, and 50% of the patients, respectively.
Subject(s)
Alcoholism/rehabilitation , Amiodarone/administration & dosage , Anti-Arrhythmia Agents/administration & dosage , Cardiac Complexes, Premature/drug therapy , Ethanol/adverse effects , Phenothiazines/administration & dosage , Propranolol/administration & dosage , Substance Withdrawal Syndrome/drug therapy , Adult , Cardiac Complexes, Premature/chemically induced , Humans , Injections, Intravenous , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
A study was undertaken to examine 25 chronic alcoholics in abstinence. A 24-hour monitoring was performed during and extra this state. Chest x-ray study, bicycle ergometry, ultrasonic study of the heart, transesophageal pacing and blood thyroid hormone levels were applied to exclude other causes of cardiac arrhythmias. In alcoholic abstinence, various cardiac arrhythmias appeared as ventricular premature beats (including those of high grade), supraventricular premature beats, supraventricular tachycardias and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation were recorded in all 25 patients. When the abstinence was absent, no cardiac arrhythmias were found in 11 (44%) patients, in 14 (56%) patients who had various arrhythmias, their frequency and number of attacks significantly being lower.