The American journal of cardiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
The CASCADE Study: randomized antiarrhythmic drug therapy in survivors of cardiac arrest in Seattle. CASCADE Investigators.
The Cardiac Arrest in Seattle: Conventional Versus Amiodarone Drug Evaluation (CASCADE) study evaluated antiarrhythmic drug therapy in patients who had survived an episode of out-of-hospital ventricular fibrillation (VF) and who were thought to be at high risk for recurrence of VF. Therapy with empiric amiodarone was compared to therapy with other antiarrhythmic agents, guided by electrophysiologic testing and/or Holter recording. The study evaluated the endpoints of (1) cardiac death, (2) cardiac arrest from ventricular fibrillation with resuscitation, and (3) complete syncope followed by a shock from an automatic implanted defibrillator that restored consciousness. ⋯ Patients treated with amiodarone were less likely to receive a shock from an implanted defibrillator, and syncope followed by a shock from a defibrillator was less common in patients treated with amiodarone. However, overall mortality was high, and side effects of therapy were common. Patients treated with amiodarone, even at the low doses used in this study, were still at risk for thyroid dysfunction (both hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism) and for pulmonary toxicity.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Randomized antiarrhythmic drug therapy in survivors of cardiac arrest (the CASCADE Study). The CASCADE Investigators.
The Cardiac Arrest in Seattle: Conventional Versus Amiodarone Drug Evaluation (CASCADE) study evaluated antiarrhythmic drug treatment of survivors of out-of-hospital ventricular fibrillation (VF) not associated with a Q-wave myocardial infarction who were at especially high risk of recurrence of VF. Therapy was randomized to empiric treatment with amiodarone versus treatment with other antiarrhythmic drugs guided by electrophysiologic testing, Holter recording, or both (conventional therapy). The primary end points of the study were cardiac mortality, resuscitated cardiac arrest due to documented VF, or complete syncope followed by a shock from an implanted automatic defibrillator. ⋯ Mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 0.35, and 102 patients (45%) had a prior history of congestive heart failure. Survival free of cardiac death, resuscitated VF, or syncopal defibrillator shock for the entire population was 75% at 2 years (amiodarone, 82%; conventional, 69%), 59% at 4 years (amiodarone, 66%; conventional, 52%), and 46% at 6 years (amiodarone, 53%; conventional, 40%); p = 0.007. The survival free of cardiac death and sustained ventricular arrhythmias was 65% at 2 years (amiodarone, 78%; conventional, 52%), 43% at 4 years (amiodarone, 52%; conventional, 36%), and 30% at 6 years (amiodarone, 41%; conventional, 20%); p < 0.001.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Rationale and design of the Department of Veterans Affairs High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Intervention Trial (HIT) for secondary prevention of coronary artery disease in men with low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and desirable low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
Although a large body of epidemiologic evidence suggests that low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol are strongly associated with an increased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD), no large-scale clinical trials focusing on this association have been reported. This report describes the rationale and design of the Department of Veterans Affairs HDL Intervention Trial (HIT), a multicenter, randomized, controlled clinical trial designed to determine whether lipid therapy reduces the combined incidence of CAD death and nonfatal myocardial infarction in men with established CAD who have low levels of HDL cholesterol with "desirable" levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. ⋯ In this population, gemfibrozil is expected to increase HDL cholesterol by 10 to 15%, have a negligible effect on LDL cholesterol, and lower triglycerides by 30 to 40%. Because an estimated 20 to 30% of patients with CAD have a low HDL cholesterol as their primary lipid abnormality, the results of this trial are expected to have far-reaching clinical implications.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Cardiac Arrest in Seattle: Conventional Versus Amiodarone Drug Evaluation (the CASCADE study).
This randomized study evaluates survivors of out-of-hospital ventricular fibrillation (VF) not associated with a Q-wave acute myocardial infarction who are deemed to be at a high risk of recurrence of VF. It compares the outcome of treatment with empirically administered amiodarone with the outcome of treatment with other antiarrhythmic agents guided by electrophysiologic testing or Holter recording, or both. The goal of therapy guided by electrophysiologic testing is to suppress inducible ventricular tachycardia (VT) or VF. ⋯ Baseline clinical characteristics remain similar in amiodarone and conventional drug groups. Pulmonary toxicity with amiodarone is 7% at 1 year, with no patients dying of pulmonary toxicity. In the first 142 patients, the overall 1-year cardiac mortality was 19%, with a 17% arrhythmic mortality (either VF or presumed arrhythmic death).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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Review Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Advantages of beta blockers versus antiarrhythmic agents and calcium antagonists in secondary prevention after myocardial infarction.
Patients who have sustained greater than or equal to 1 myocardial infarcts are at high risk for sudden death or reinfarction; the risk is highest for those with lowest ventricular ejection fraction, continuing myocardial ischemia and asymptomatic high-density and complex premature ventricular contractions. At present, beta blockers when given prophylactically are the only agents that reduce the incidence of sudden death and reinfarction in survivors of myocardial infarction (MI) in the first 2 years. The beneficial effect was shown to correlate with a reduction in heart rate, the effect being absent or deleterious with beta blockers with marked sympathomimetic activity. ⋯ Whether these data can be extrapolated to all class I agents is uncertain. Preliminary data with class III antiarrhythmic agents suggest that these agents, especially amiodarone, similarly to beta blockers, have the potential to reduce mortality in survivors of MI. Evolving data suggest that in the secondary prevention of morbid events in the survivors of acute MI, the focus must shift away from antiarrhythmic agents that delay conduction and toward beta blockers and antifibrillatory actions resulting from a prolongation of refractoriness.