MULTAQ

[LindaTX]

This week my local EP Dr., after I asked about it, suggested I start taking Dronedarone. I thought it was supposed to act as a "pill in a pocket" but I am being prescribed 2 a day, with breakfast and dinner.  He said he didn't think it would work but said I could try it.  What I really want to know is "HOW is this drug supposed to work?" I know it's new and I've read a few things on here about it, one was pretty scary where a woman died after taking it for 3 wks. I've read that it has a 2% morbidity rate?  Also something about if your QT is shortened or lengthened you shouldn't take it...what does that mean?  I know to take either flecainide, tykosin, or rhythmol, they like you to get started on it in a hospital setting.  Can anyone out there give me some much needed insight on this new drug.  Oh, I have PAF with some occassional PVC's.  

[chicky2001]

Norpace was suppose to be a "wonder pill" for skipping heart beats when it came out too.
I've been on it for years and still have big problems now and then.  Norpace is a big gun and you should be in the hospital to start it.  Anyway it is taken on a regular basis.

I always thought it would be great to just take a pill when needed and not all the time.

My Norpace, even though it has been lowered from 150 cr mgs to 100 mgs seems to be slowing my heart rate now and making it more irregular.  My blood pressure is to low too.

[cindy707]

Hi Linda...my heart doc gave me Multaq as well but cautioned me that it is not to be used as a daily med because he explained that it is the "big gun" of meds.  The reason he gave it to me as a pill in the pocket theory was because i ended up in the E.R. w. a pulse rate in the upper 200's and rather than hit me with an AED to convert me they actually chemically coverted me thru the I.V. line.  The Multaq he explained i am only to take if my heart rate begins to soar again or becomes totally irregular....he said it is used in most cases as an "at home" chemical conversion so that we don't have to go back to the E.R, and go thru that mess of anxiety again.  I seriously do not know about taking the meds on a daily basis and have seen others post on this site that their docs did put them on a daily dose only to take them off of it because of what it was doing to their bodies.  If it were my body and my doc wanted me on it on a daily basis i would probably do my research and read the Andromeda clinical trials to see what they say and if you don't like what you read question the doc and get a second opinion...good luck Linda but i think you are right in questioning this.....

[is_something_wrong]

Hi,

Multaq is a new, "strange" drug, known as a bit of a "wonder pill".
It works as an antiarrhytmic drug with all 4 antiarrhythmic abilities. To understand this better, there are 4 antiarrhythmic categories:

I: Sodium blockers (such as lidocaine, flecainide)
II: Beta blockers (there are hundreds of them)
III: Potassium blockers (such as amiodarone, sotalol (sotalol is actually a b-blocker too)
IV: Calcium blockers (such as verapamil)

Multaq has little class III side effects (proarrhythmic abilities, especially risk of TdP), it's estimated the QTc is prolonged by 10 ms (moderate prolonging) by use of Multaq. Flecainide and other class I antiarrhythmic drugs also have possible proarrhythmic abilities. Beta blockers (except sotalol) and calcium blockers does not.

Multaq is not recommended if the QTc is >500 ms.

Multaq (dronedarone) is chemically "in family" with amiodarone, but with far less side effects (Amiodarone is very toxic and considered the choice if other drugs fail). It's a very expensive drug, though, probably because it's completely new.

Multaq is used to prevent AF, possibly to convert it, and to reduce ventricle rates during AF.

I don't know so much about this, you should ask your doctor, but I hope some of this was at least a bit anxiety-relieving. Someone (a doctor) on the expert forum can give you a better answer :)

Good luck!