Wanted: Class VI Antiarrhythmic Drug Action; New Start for a Rational Drug Therapy.

Since the discovery by a Dutch merchant in the early 20th Century that the drug quinine he was taking to prevent malaria during his frequent trips to the West Indies also prevented his Atrial Fibrillation (AF) [1], drug therapy of cardiac arrhythmias remained largely empirical and at best suboptimal [2]. Slowing of impulse conduction (akin to local anesthetic effects) and increased refractoriness of cardiac tissue as observed with quinidine (quinine’s isomer) still remain the two key parameters, among other mechanisms, that are targeted to control cardiac arrhythmias.