Re: Atrial Fibrillation

Posted By louis on May 04, 1999 at 20:41:50PI am 52 y/o male in excellent health with solo paroxysmalbrfib for approx 6 yrs. I have had all dx testing including echos (esophageal), stress testing(thallium),r and l heart cath w/swan ganz pressures....all very normal.brI have been on various meds to control rate and rhythm, none of which worked for more that 9 mo, including procanamide, quinidine, flecanide (had adverse reaction w/ventricular tach), and cordorone. I am currently only taking verapamil for rate control and coumadin...no rhythm control med. In the past I have been in atrial fib almost continuously when not controlled w/med. However, in the last 6 mo since I have dc'd the latest drug Cordarone, I have  been in atrial fib approx 8-10% of the time. I have episodes about every 1-2 wks of 8-12hrs up to 36 hrs of atrial fib, then convert on my own. The atrial fib almost always starts when I am asleep and goes away when awake and active.brI have the following questions:br1) Is it possible that the cause of my atrial fib is lessening...or have you known of patients who had atrial fib and experience a complete recovery? Or, should I be more pessimistic and expect it to get worse as I get older?br2) Is there any other medication that I could try to control the atrial fib that has few adverse reactions.?br3) Is there more likelihood that I will continue to have atrial fib at the current frequency, that it will get better or worse (considering that it has lessened from 100% of the time to only 10% in the last 6 yrs).brThank you very much for your support and advice.PPHR WIDTH=75% SIZE=4 COLOR=#000090

[Cleveland Clinic, MD]

Posted By CCF CARDIO MD - CRC on May 05, 1999 at 15:19:29PDear Louis,pQ:  Is it possible that the cause of my atrial fib is lessening...or have you known of patients who had atrial fib and experience a complete recovery? Or, should I be more pessimistic and expect it to get worse as I get older?brA: In general afib does not lessen unless treated with medication.  pQ:  Is there an

[louis__0]

Posted By louis on May 12, 1999 at 20:20:44

What is the scientific name for Rhythmol and has it been
effective in controlling atrial fib ?  Are the side effects
as bad as the others,eg flecanide, cordorone.
Thank you for being so helpful !!

[Cleveland Clinic, MD]

Posted By CCF CARDIO MD - CRC on May 18, 1999 at 09:04:01
The generic name is propafenone. This drug is effective in controling arrhythmias but like all anti-arrhythmic medications has potential side-effects.  Some possible side-effects are: bronchospasm, proarrhythmic effects, slowing of conduction, unusual taste, possible dizziness.
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