My 46 year old husband suffers from heart failure, following a partial pericardectomy for constrictive pericarditis. His heartbeat is irregular & too rapid all the time. The local cardiologist wants to put him into the hospital & try a new drug to slow his heart down. 1/2 of a Lopressor nearly killed him, but currently he is on Lanoxin which is not slowing his heart enough.
I have read articles on the internet stating that trying to slow the constricted heart down is not recommended because this heart NEEDS to beat faster to compensate for not being able to beat strongly. Having read this, & considering our experience with Lopressor, we are afraid to experiment with other drugs.
What is your opinion?