Atropine and Infarction Bradycardia

Excerpt

To the editor: In the National Institutes of Health Conference, "The Early Phase of Acute Myocardial Infarction," in the June 1973 issue (Ann Intern Med 78:918-936, 1973), Dr. Epstein and colleagues imply that atropine is not a salutary drug in the acute phase of myocardial infarction.

That paper purports to support these beliefs: [1] vagally induced bradyarrhythmias do not increase the risk of ventricular dysrhythmias after acute myocardial infarction; [2] atropine is not of value in suppression of significant ventricular dysrhythmias after acute myocardial infarction; [3] the prognosis for patients with acute myocardial infarction and untreated sinus bradycardia is good;