Ventricular Arrhythmia and Stokes - Adams Syndrome

An unusual case of ventricular arrhythmia is reported with electrocardiograms showing complete attacks of ventricular tachycardia, ventricular flutter and ventricular fibrillation. The etiology is unknown. Large doses of quinidine, to the point of toxicity, seemed to halt the arrhythmia but did not prevent its recurrence. Ephedrine was given with resulting immediate improvement and no recurrence of the arrhythmia. It is suggested that ephedrine may be of value in treating StokesAdams attacks due to ventricular arrhythmia in which there is no heart block but an underlying bradyeardia.