Amiodarone in restoration and maintenance of sinus rhythm in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation after unsuccessful direct‐current cardioversion

Background: When direct‐current (DC) cardioversion is used, sinus rhythm can be restored, at least temporarily, in 80–90% of patients with atrial fibrillation. However, there is a small but significant group of patients with chronic atrial fibrillation in whom DC cardioversion has failed to restore...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical cardiology (Mahwah, N.J.) N.J.), 1997-04, Vol.20 (4), p.337-340
Main Authors: Opolski, Grzegorz, Stanislawska, Jolanta, Górecki, Aleksander, Świěcicka, Grazyna, Kraska, Tadeusz, Torbicki, Adam
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
amiodarone
Amiodarone - therapeutic use
Anti-Arrhythmia Agents - therapeutic use
Antiarythmic agents
Atrial Fibrillation - therapy
Biological and medical sciences
Cardiovascular system
Case-Control Studies
chronic atrial fibrillation
Chronic Disease
Clinical Investigation
Combined Modality Therapy
Electric Countershock
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Premedication
Recurrence
repeat cardioversion
Retreatment
Time Factors
Treatment Failure
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background: When direct‐current (DC) cardioversion is used, sinus rhythm can be restored, at least temporarily, in 80–90% of patients with atrial fibrillation. However, there is a small but significant group of patients with chronic atrial fibrillation in whom DC cardioversion has failed to restore sinus rhythm. The value of antiarrhythmic drug pretreatment before DC cardioversion is still controversial. Hypothesis: The aim of our study was to assess (1) the effecti veness of repeat DC cardioversion in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation after pretreatment with amiodarone, and (2) the efficacy of amiodarone in maintaining sinus rhythm after repeat cardioversion. Methods: Forty‐nine patients with chronic atrial fibrillation after ineffective DC cardioversion were included in the study. Repeat DC cardioversion was performed after loading with oral amiodarone, 10–15 mg/kg body weight/day for a period necessary to achieve the cumulative dose of over 6.0 g. Results: Spontaneous conversion to sinus rhythm during amiodarone pretreatment was achieved in 9 of 49 patients (18%). Direct‐current cardioversion was performed in 39 patients and sinus rhythm was achieved in 23 of these patients (59%). Mean heart rate decreased from 95 beats/min before to 68 beats/min after DC cardioversion (p
ISSN:0160-9289
1932-8737
DOI:10.1002/clc.4960200407