Substituted 4-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)benzamides as antiarrhythmic agents

Claim 1

A compound of the formula I: ##STR10## wherein: R 1 is hydrogen, lower alkyl, lower alkenyl, lower alkoxy-lower alkyl, phenyl, substituted phenyl, naphthalenyl, substituted naphthalenyl, phenylalkyl, substituted phenylalkyl or collectively with R 5 may produce a piperazine or a hexahydro-1,4-diazepine ring system; R 2 is hydrogen, lower alkyl, phenyl, substituted phenyl, naphthalenyl, substituted naphthalenyl or collectively with R 3 is a bond or an alkylene chain to form a saturated carbocyclic ring of from 4 to 8 ring carbons or collectively with R 5 is a alkylene chain to form a heterocyclic of from 5 to 8 ring members; R 3 is hydrogen, lower alkyl, phenyl, substituted phenyl, naphthalenyl, substituted naphthalenyl, or collectively with R 5 is an alkylene chain to form a heterocyclic of from 5 to 8 ring members; R 4 is hydrogen, methyl or ethyl; R 5 , R 6 are hydrogen, lower alkenyl, C 1 -C 8 straight or branched chain alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, cycloalkyl(lower)alkyl, lower alkyl substituted by phenyl which may be substituted by up to 3 substituents selected from hydroxy or methoxy groups, or when taken together form a saturated heterocyclic ring of from 4 to 8 ring members which may be substituted by one or more methyl groups or optionally contain an ##STR11## where R 7 is a C 1 -C 8 straight or branched chain alkyl or phenylalkyl wherein the phenyl group may be optionally substituted by up to three substituents selected from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 alkoxy, trifluoromethyl, fluorine, chlorine and bromine; p is the integer 0, 1, or 2; n is the integer 0 or 1; and the pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof; with the provisos that: (a) only one of R 1 , R 2 or R 3 can contain an aromatic substituent; (b) if one of R 2 or R 3 contains an aromatic substituent then the other plus R 1 and R 4 must be hydrogen; (c) R 5 and R 6 cannot both be hydrogen; (d) when any one of R 1 , R 5 or R 6 is lower alkenyl, the unsaturation cannot be alpha to the carbon atoms; and the pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof.