New Drugs for Old Hearts

The newer antiarrhythmic agents propranolol, diphenylhydantoin and lidocaine have significant potential for depressing cardiac function and must be used with caution, especially in elderly patients. The new diuretic agents ethacrynic acid and furosemide are extremely potent and offer great advantages in refractory edema, but their indiscriminate use in the aged patient may lead to overdiuresis and to deterioration in cerebral, cardiac and renal function.