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Ann Thorac Surg 1986;41:106-112
© 1986 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

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Articles

Antiarrhythmic Drugs: Electrophysiological Basis of Their Clinical Usage

From the Department of Anesthesiology, Erlanger Medical Center, Chattanooga, TN, and the Departments of Anesthesiology and Surgery, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA

^* Address reprint requests to Dr. Weng, Department of Anesthesiology, Erlanger Medical Center, 975 E Third St, Chattanooga, TN 37403

Cardiac arrhythmias arise from abnormalities of impulse initiation or impulse conduction or both. A review of the electrophysiological mechanisms of the genesis of cardiac arrhythmias and of the electrophysiological principles of the treatment of the cardiac arrhythmias leads to: (1) categorization of antiarrhythmic drugs into five classes based on their dominant cardiac electrophysiological actions; (2) a series of categories of their effects on impulse initiation and impulse conduction in different types of cardiac cells; and (3) a systematic approach to pharmacological management of cardiac arrhythmias.