Case of a patient with heart failure, dilated cardiomyopathy and atrial fibrillation treated with sacubitril/valsartan.

A novel combination consisting of the neprilysin inhibitor, sacubitril, and the angiotensin-receptor blocker, valsartan (belonging to the newly established class of angiotensin receptor/neprilysin inhibitors), was shown to be effective in the treatment of heart failure (HF) by improving patient clinical status, and reducing re-hospitalization rate and mortality. We report a case of a 29 year old male with HF, dilated cardiomyopathy possibly related to myocarditis and atrial fibrillation with reduced ejection fraction. Sacubitril/valsartan treatment was initiated after two years of standard treatment.

Tocainide and metoprolol: an efficacious therapeutic combination in the treatment of premature ventricular beats.

A double-blind crossover study was performed in 20 patients to verify the efficacy of tocainide plus metoprolol in patients with premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) class Lown greater than or equal to 2 (mean frequency greater than or equal to 30/h) judged as being "stable" by at least three basal 24-h Holter ECGs with PVC variation of less than +/- 25%. All 20 patients were submitted to a placebo period; and all were subsequently randomized to therapy with tocainide 1800 mg/day or metoprolol 200 mg/day for 15 days and then to tocainide 1800 mg + metoprolol 200 mg/day or tocainide 1200 mg + metoprolol 200 mg/day for 15 days, followed by a crossover of the two combination treatments. At steady state in every stage we controlled for plasma levels of the drugs, a 24-h Holter recording, and a 12-lead ECG.

[Pharmacologic cardioversion with propafenone of stable atrial fibrillation of recent onset].

The efficacy of intravenous propafenone (P) infused at 2 mg/kg in 3 min as a loading dose followed by 0.007 mg/kg/min along 24 hours, in converting atrial fibrillation (AF) was evaluated under continuous electrocardiographic and blood pressure control in 22 patients. In case of inefficacy after a wash out of 24 hours, amiodarone (A) 5 mg/kg in 3 min followed by 1.

Antiarrhythmic efficacy of propafenone: evaluation of effective plasma levels following single and multiple doses.

In 11 patients with stable premature ventricular beats, the kinetics of single (150 and 300 mg) and multiple (150 mg t.i.d.