Risk factors and predictors of Torsade de pointes ventricular tachycardia in patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction receiving Dofetilide

Am J Cardiol. 2007 Sep 1;100(5):876-80. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2007.04.020. Epub 2007 Jun 27.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors of Torsade de pointes (TdP) ventricular tachycardia in patients medicated with a class III antiarrhythmic drug (dofetilide) and left ventricular systolic dysfunction with heart failure (HF) or recent myocardial infarction (MI). The 2 Danish Investigations of Arrhythmia and Mortality on Dofetilide (DIAMOND) studies enrolled patients with HF (DIAMOND-HF) or MI (DIAMOND-MI) and left ventricular systolic dysfunction. The present analysis includes only patients treated solely with dofetilide. The incidence of TdP was 2.1% (32 of 1,511). Twenty-five of the incidences occurred in the DIAMOND-HF study and 7 cases in the DIAMOND-MI study (p = 0.0015). TdP was more frequent in women than in men (47% vs 28%, p = 0.02). Risk factors for developing TdP were female gender (odds ratio 2.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.0 to 5.0), MI within 8 weeks (odds ratio 0.3, 95% CI 0.1 to 0.7), being in New York Heart Association class III or IV (odds ratio 3.2, 95% CI 1.2 to 8.6), and baseline QTc duration (odds ratio 1.14, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.30) per 10 ms. Women with chronic HF, QTc duration >400 ms. and New York Heart Association class III or IV had a risk of TdP of 10%, whereas no TdP episodes were observed in patients with QTc duration <400 ms. In conclusion, severity of HF, female gender, and QTc duration make it possible to identify patients with a high risk of early TdP when treated with dofetilide. Patients with recent MI less often had TdP compared with patients with chronic HF.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Anti-Arrhythmia Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Atrial Fibrillation / complications
  • Cardiac Output, Low / complications
  • Cause of Death
  • Double-Blind Method
  • Electrocardiography
  • Female
  • Forecasting
  • Heart Arrest / etiology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Myocardial Infarction / complications
  • Phenethylamines / therapeutic use*
  • Placebos
  • Potassium Channel Blockers / therapeutic use*
  • Risk Factors
  • Sex Factors
  • Sulfonamides / therapeutic use*
  • Time Factors
  • Torsades de Pointes / etiology*
  • Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / drug therapy*

Substances

  • Anti-Arrhythmia Agents
  • Phenethylamines
  • Placebos
  • Potassium Channel Blockers
  • Sulfonamides
  • dofetilide