Disopyramide is an antiarrhythmic medication

Medication

A pharmaceutical drug, also referred to as medicine, medication or medicament, can be loosely defined as any chemical substance intended for use in the medical diagnosis, cure, treatment, or prevention of disease.- Classification :...

. It is a Class Ia antiarrhythmic (sodium channel blocker

Sodium channel blocker

Sodium channel blockers are agents that impair conduction of sodium ions through sodium channels.-Extracellular:The following naturally produced substances block sodium channels by binding to and occluding the extracellular pore opening of the channel:...

) used in the treatment of ventricular tachycardia

Ventricular tachycardia

Ventricular tachycardia is a tachycardia, or fast heart rhythm, that originates in one of the ventricles of the heart...

s. It has no effect on alpha

Adrenergic receptor

The adrenergic receptors are a class of metabotropic G protein-coupled receptors that are targets of the catecholamines, especially noradrenaline and adrenaline ....

 or beta adrenergic receptor

Adrenergic receptor

The adrenergic receptors are a class of metabotropic G protein-coupled receptors that are targets of the catecholamines, especially noradrenaline and adrenaline ....

s.
It resembles quinidine

Quinidine

Quinidine is a pharmaceutical agent that acts as a class I antiarrhythmic agent in the heart. It is a stereoisomer of quinine, originally derived from the bark of the cinchona tree.-Mechanism:...

 but it has a marked anti-muscarinic

Muscarinic antagonist

In neurochemistry, a muscarinic receptor antagonist is an agent that reduces the activity of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor. Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter, whose receptor is a protein found in synapses and other cell membranes...

 effect on the heart, for this reason, it is not considered as a drug of 1st choice. It is also used in ventricular arrhythmia and supraventricular arrhythmia

Supraventricular tachycardia

Supraventricular tachycardia is a general term that refers to any rapid heart rhythm originating above the ventricular tissue. Supraventricular tachycardias can be contrasted to the potentially more dangerous ventricular tachycardias - rapid rhythms that originate within the ventricular...

 that might follow myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...

s.

Cardiac adverse effects

• Acute heart failure
  Acute decompensated heart failure
  Acute decompensated heart failure is a common and potentially serious cause of acute respiratory distress.-Causes:Chronic stable heart failure may easily decompensate...
  
  http://www.zealandpharma.com/diseases/Acute-Heart-Failure#top
• Severe hypotension
  Hypotension
  In physiology and medicine, hypotension is abnormally low blood pressure, especially in the arteries of the systemic circulation. It is best understood as a physiologic state, rather than a disease. It is often associated with shock, though not necessarily indicative of it. Hypotension is the...
  
  

Extracardiac effects

• Dry mouth
• Constipation
  Constipation
  Constipation refers to bowel movements that are infrequent or hard to pass. Constipation is a common cause of painful defecation...
  
  
• Urinary retention
  Urinary retention
  Urinary retention, also known as ischuria, is a lack of ability to urinate. It is a common complication of benign prostatic hyperplasia , although it can also be caused by nerve dysfunction, constipation, infection, or medications...
  
  
• Blurred vision
• Glaucoma
  Glaucoma
  Glaucoma is an eye disorder in which the optic nerve suffers damage, permanently damaging vision in the affected eye and progressing to complete blindness if untreated. It is often, but not always, associated with increased pressure of the fluid in the eye...
  
  
• Rash
• Agranulocytosis
  Agranulocytosis
  Granulopenia, also known as Agranulosis or Agranulocytosis, is an acute condition involving a severe and dangerous leukopenia , most commonly of neutrophils causing a neutropenia in the circulating blood. It represents a severe lack of one major class of infection-fighting white blood cells...
  
  

Additionally, disopyramide may enhance the hypoglycaemic effect of gliclazide, insulin, and metformin.

External links

• Disopyramide on RxList