Arrythmias: Therapy Flashcards
What is an arrhythmia?
Any deviation from the normal rhythm of the heart
What are the 4 major classes of arrhythmias?
- Sinus arrhythmia
- Supraventricular arrhythmia
- Ventricular arrhythmia
- Heart block
What is responsible for the resting membrane potential?
- Inside the cardiac cell there is a net negative charge relative to the outside of the cell
- Due to uneven distribution of ions across the membrane
- Sodium potassium ATPase pump maintains this
What causes cardiac cells to become excited?
A change in distribution of ions
What results in the propagation of the electrical impulse?
Movement of ions across the cardiac cell’s membrane
What does the electrical impulse lead to?
Contraction of the myocardial muscle
What is the Vaughan-Williams classification of drugs to treat arrhythmias?
- Class Ia
- Class Ib
- Class Ic
- Class II
- Class III
- Class IV
- Other
What is the electrophysiological property of class IA drugs?
Fast sodium-channel blockade
What is the electrophysiological property of class IB drugs?
Intermediate sodium-channel blockade
What is the electrophysiological property of class IC drugs?
Slow sodium-channel blockade
What is the electrophysiological property of class II drugs?
B-Adrenergic receptor antagonism
What is the electrophysiological property of class III drugs?
Prolong refractoriness
What is the electrophysiological property of class IV drugs?
Calcium channel blockade
Give 3 examples of class IA drugs.
- Quinidine
- Procainamide
- Dispyramide
Give 4 examples of class IB drugs.
- Lidocaine
- Mexiletine
- Tocainide
- Phenytoin
Give 2 examples of class IC drugs.
- Flecainide
- Propafenone
Give 2 examples of class II drugs.
- Atenolol
- Bisoprolol
Give 3 examples of class III drugs.
- Amiodarone
- Bretylium
- Sotalol
Give 2 examples of class IV drugs.
- Diltiazem
- Verapamil
What do class I drugs do?
Stabilise membrane
What do class IA drugs do?
- Block sodium channels
- Delay repolarisation
- Increase action potential duration
What are class IA drugs used to treat?
- Atrial fibrillation
- Premature atrial contractions
- Premature ventricular contractions
- VT
- Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome
What do class IB drugs do?
- Block sodium channels
- Accelerate repolarisation
- Decrease the action potential duration
What are class IB drugs used to treat?
Ventricular dysrthmias only
- Premature ventricular contractions
- VT
- VF
What do class IC drugs do?
- Block sodium channels (more pronounced effect)
- Little effect on action potential duration or repolarisation
What are class IC drugs used to treat?
- Sever ventricular dysrthmias
- Can be used for atrial fibrillation/flutter
What are class II drugs otherwise known as?
B-blockers
What do class II drugs do?
- Reduce or block sympathetic nervous system stimulation, thus reducing transmission of impulses in the heart’s conduction system
- Depress phase 4 depolarisation
- General myocardial depressants for both supraventricular and ventricular dysrhythmias
What is now the first line for atrial fibrillation?
Bisoprolol
What do class III drugs do?
- Increase action potential duration
- Prolong repolarisation in phase 3
What are class III drugs used to treat?
- Dysrythmias that are difficult to treat
- Life-threatening VT or VF, atrial fibrillation/flutter resistant to other drugs
- Sustained VT
What do class IV drugs do?
-Depress phase 4 depolarisation
What are class IV drugs used to treat?
- Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia
- Rate control for atrial fibrillation and flutter
Why do other antidysrhythmics not place in a class?
They have properties of several classes
What is digoxin?
Cardiac glycoside