Safety and toxicity of antiarrhythmic drug therapy : benefit versus risk

Although antiarrhythmic drugs remain the first and most frequently used approach to therapy for arrhythmias, there is growing concern about their safety. It has long been recognized that this class of drug is associated with frequent side effects, especially in patients with extensive underlying heart disease. However, the recent report from the Cardiac Arrhythmia Suppression Trial (CAST) has pointed out that serious toxicity may occur even in patients with less serious heart disease. There are two major reasons for antiarrhythmic therapy. First is for relief of symptoms documented to be the result of arrhythmia