Abstract
We gave verapamil intravenously to 16 patients who had multifocal atrial tachycardia - five patients were pretreated with 1 g of intravenous calcium gluconate five minutes before receiving verapamil and 11 patients were not. Verapamil proved effective and safe, slowing the heart rate in all but one patient (21% average decrease) and restoring sinus rhythm in eight. Although without calcium pretreatment verapamil therapy resulted in a 27% decrease in systolic blood pressure, with calcium pretreatment the systolic pressure decreased only 11%. Calcium pretreatment did not prevent the slowing effect of verapamil on heart rate.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 21-38 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Cardiology Board Review |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| State | Published - 1988 |