The effects of intravenous procaine and procaine amide (pronestyl) upon ectopic ventricular tachycardia accompanying acute myocardial infarction.

In tests using dogs with ectopic ventricular tachycardia resulting from myocardial infarction, procaine has been found to be without practical value as an ectopic impulse suppressor agent. Procaine amide has proved to be very effective in reducing the ectopic rate of high frequency tachycardias to low levels, thus eliminating danger of death from the tachycardia. Procaine amide usually does not produce an entirely normal rhythm but this is of little practical importance. The toxicitv of procaine amide is relatively low. For approximately equivalent results, in the tachycardias studied, the dosage of procaine amide must be two to three times that of quinidine.