Rhythm Control - Antiarrhythmic Drugs |
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Maintaining your heart in normal rhythm: Once you are back in normal rhythm, there are treatments to keep you in rhythm. These may include medical therapy with anti-arrhythmic medications or a procedure such as catheter ablation, surgical ablation, or device implantation. These are medications aimed at treating the AF by maintaining the normal rhythm. Such medications include: Amiodarone, Flecainide, Sotalol, Dofetilide, or Propafenone.
Anti-arrhythmic medications act on heart tissues at a cellular level to stop or prevent atrial fibrillation. These medications can be effective at keeping you in sinus rhythm and may need to be taken one or more times a day. Each of the medications has possible side effects. Side effects are usually rare but may include headache, constipation, shortness of breath and, less often, arrhythmias. Special issues: Dofetilide requires hospitalization for 72 hours for heart rhythm monitoring while you are being started (or loaded) on the medication. Amiodarone requires periodic blood tests to monitor your thyroid and liver function as it may cause problems with these organs. Amiodarone can also cause lung problems, or a bluish grey skin discoloration. Flecainide may also require occasional blood tests to monitor levels in your blood stream. |
