Quinidine is a pharmaceutical agent that acts as a class I antiarrhythmic agent (Ia) in the heart. It is a stereoisomer of quinine, originally derived from the bark of the cinchona tree. Mechanism Like all other class I antiarrhythmic agents, quinidine primarily works by blocking the fast inward sodium current (INa). Quinidine's effect on INa is known as a use dependent block. This means that at higher heart rates, the block increases, while at lower heart rates the block decreases. The effect… (More on Quinidine)