EFFECT OF BENAZEPRIL ON COMPLEX VENTRICULAR ARRHYTHMIAS IN OLDER PATIENTS WITH CONGESTIVE-HEART-FAILURE, PRIOR MYOCARDIAL-INFARCTION, AND NORMAL LEFT-VENTRICULAR EJECTION FRACTION

Sixty patients, mean age 82 +/- 8 years, with congestive heart failure , prior myocardial infarction, normal left ventricular ejection fracti on, and greater than or equal to 30 ventricular premature complexes pe r hour detected by 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiograms, and who were treated with diuretics, were randomized to treatment with benazepril 20 to 40 mg/day (30 patients) or to no benazepril (30 patients). At a median of 6 months after treatment, follow-up 24-hour ambulatory elect rocardiograms showed that compared with no benazepril, benazepril caus ed no significant reduction in the number of ventricular premature com plexes per hour or in the number of runs of ventricular tachycardia pe r 24 hours.