Antiarrhythmic drugs no longer seem to be big business. After the unexpected CAST trial results (excess mortality in the class 1C antiarrhythmic drug treatment arms in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and abundant ventricular extrasystoles),1 antiarrhythmic drug treatment became less popular for CAD patients. Since this category of patients represents the majority of cardiology patients with chronic disease, these results impacted on the antiarrhythmic drug market. In the years that followed, the use of class 1C drugs was even further discouraged.
