ANTIARRHYTHMIC EFFECTS OF MAGNESIUM-SULFATE - REPORT OF 3 CASES

A wide variety of antiarrhythmic agents is used in treatment of both s upraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias. Magnesium sulphate has pr eviously been used mainly in the treatment of torsade de pointe arrhyt hmias but several reports show that this agent may be used in the trea tment of arrhythmias of different aetiology. We describe 3 patients wh o exhibited arrhythmias affecting haemodynamic performance. Case #1 ha d a subarachnoid haemorrhage and developed a supraventricular tachycar dia. In case #2, ventricular tachycardia appeared during the postopera tive course after abdominal surgery. Case #3 experienced critical hear t failure due to dilated cardiomyopathy and had an irregular heart rhy thm with multiple ectopic beats. In all three cases the administration of intravenous magnesium sulphate was successful in treating the arrt hmias. Magnesium sulphate is an antiarrhythmic agent that is effective mainly in treatment of ventricular arrhythmias. The drug can also be employed as second-line treatment of supraventricular arrhythmias.