Drugs. Clinical and Regulatory Implications was held at the conference. It is based on written reports composed by the European Heart House in Sophia Antipolis, France, on the speakers and the chairs of the workshops. Before the initiative of Gunter Breithardt, FESC, FACC, on June preparation of the final version of the document, a draft 24th and 25th, 1999 after formal approval by the Board of was circulated to all participants of the conference for the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). suggestions and comments. The opinions expressed in this The conference was organised under the auspices of the document are those of the participants and do not neces-ESC Committee for Scientific and Clinical Initiatives by sarily reflect the official position of their organisations or Gunter Breithardt and Wilhelm Haverkamp, Munster, agencies. The meeting was made possible by unrestricted Germany, with participation of representatives of the educational grants to the Committee for Scientific and Working Group on Arrhythmias of the ESC, the American Clinical Initiatives of the ESC from several companies College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, listed in the Appendix A. the World Heart Federation, the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products, the Medicines Control Agency (UK), the Food and Drug Administration (USA),