PMID: 9167219Jul 1, 1996Paper

The effect of low-dose amiodarone in prevention of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation

Romanian Journal of Internal Medicine = Revue Roumaine De Médecine Interne
D ZdrengheaM Beudean

Abstract

The efficacy of amiodarone for atrial fibrillation (AF) prophylaxis is well established, but the large doses used until recently may be harmful during long-term therapy, especially because of the pulmonary fibrosis it generates. Recently, similar good results have been reported in using low-dose amiodarone. We studied the prophylactic effect of long-term therapy of low-dose amiodarone (200 mg/day) in 26 patients with AF of various etiologies. During a period of six months to four years, 46% of patients were free of any arrhythmic attack. The paroxysmal attacks of AF continued in 35% of patients, but with a lower frequency. In 19% of patients AF became chronic during amiodarone therapy. The best results were registered in patients over sixty, with stable sinus rhythm in 75% of cases, probably in relation to the ischemic etiology of AF and the anti-ischemic associated effect of amiodarone. The stability of sinus rhythm was greater (50% vs 38%, p < 0.05) when the treatment with amiodarone was started within the first six months from the first AF attack. Our results supported the use of low-dose amiodarone as a first-line drug for the long-term prophylaxis of AF, mainly in older patients.

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