Sotalol.

Abstract

Sotalol is a novel antiarrhythmic agent combining beta-adrenergic-antagonist actions with the ability to increase cardiac repolarization and refractoriness. The drug's electrophysiologic and clinical profile is different from that of conventional beta-receptor antagonists. As compared with other antiarrhythmic agents, sotalol prevents recurrences of arrhythmia in a higher proportion of patients, particularly among those presenting with ventricular tachycardia and aborted sudden cardiac death. The net hemodynamic effect of sotalol is the result of a balance between the depressant effects due to beta-receptor blockade and an action that tends to increase contractility. Although initially marketed in the United States for treatment of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias, sotalol also has demonstrated efficacy in many patients with supraventricular arrhythmias. As with all drugs that prolong the QT interval, the syndrome of torsade de pointes is a serious potential adverse effect.

• Authors: S H Hohnloser, R L Woosley
• Journal: The New England journal of medicine (N Engl J Med) Vol. 331 Issue 1 Pg. 31-8 (Jul 07 1994) ISSN: 0028-4793 [Print] United States
• PMID: 8202100 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)

Chemical References

• Sotalol

Topics

• Action Potentials (drug effects)
• Animals
• Electrocardiography (drug effects)
• Electrophysiology
• Humans
• Myocardial Contraction (drug effects)
• Myocardial Infarction (drug therapy)
• Sotalol (adverse effects, pharmacokinetics, pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Tachycardia, Supraventricular (drug therapy)
• Tachycardia, Ventricular (drug therapy)