EXPERIMENTAL EFFICACY OF COMBINED USE OF VERAPAMIL AND ADENOSINE-TRIPHOSPHATE

A wide application of ATP to abolish reciprocal paroxysmal tachycardia is limited by frequent and adverse effects of the drug. Experients on 49 rats have revealed that successive intravenous injections of verap amil and ATP have a more pronounced and prolonged action than the drug s alone. It is assumed that decreased pacemaker activity of sinus noda l cells and reduced atrioventricular conduction (''binodal dysfunction '') are as a result of drug calcium channel block in the cellular memb ranes of myocytes. Potentiation of the pharmacological action of the d rugs in question may be used in the clinical setting to lower an ATP d ose and to reduce the incidence of adverse effects.