What medication should be avoided during a cardioversion?

Blood thinners and diabetes medications Please ask your doctor how you should take your blood thinners/anticoagulants, such as Coumadin (warfarin), and your diabetes medications or insulin on the day of your cardioversion. Unless your doctor or nurse tells you otherwise, take all other regular medications as scheduled.

What is the most common side effects of antiarrhythmic therapy?

Common side effects caused by antiarrhythmics include:

  • possible issues with your liver, kidneys, thyroid or lungs (these will be monitored by your health professional)
  • tiredness.
  • nausea (feeling sick)
  • shortness of breath (if this gets so bad that you feel unsafe, seek medical attention immediately).

Does cardioversion have side effects?

Major risks of cardioversion include: Dislodged blood clots. Some people who have irregular heartbeats have blood clots in their hearts. Electric cardioversion can cause these blood clots to move to other parts of your body.

Which antiarrhythmic is contraindicated in patient with atrial fibrillation mi?

Propafenone and flecainide are contraindicated in patients with coronary artery disease since increased mortality was observed in the Cardiac Arrhythmia Suppression Trial (CAST) in patients with post-myocardial infarction with active ischemia [12].

Is there a better drug than amiodarone?

Dronedarone has been viewed as a potential therapeutic alternative for amiodarone because of a lower risk for pulmonary, thyroid, and dermatologic adverse effects. Compared with amiodarone, dronedarone has poor bioavailability and a shorter terminal disposition half-life, which dictates a twice-daily dosing regimen.

What is the most toxic antiarrhythmic agent?

In terms of its toxicity, amiodarone remains the most feared of the antiarrhythmic agents.

When to use antiarrhythmic drugs for cardioversion?

Chemical cardioversion can be accomplished with intravenous or oral antiarrhythmic drugs. In general, the conversion success of antiarrhythmic drug therapy is significantly higher for acute (<7 days) compared with longer-duration AF.

Which is the best cardioversion agent for AF?

In summary, amiodarone appears to be the most effective antiarrhythmic agent for prevention of AF but it has limited role for use in pharmacological cardioversion of AF. Use of amiodarone is limited by the side effects associated with it, with major side effects reported in up to 20% of patients in some studies.

When to use antiarrhythmic drugs for AF-heart?

Owing to the high recurrence rate of AF after cardioversion (71–84% at 1 year), the use of antiarrhythmic drugs to maintain SR is recommended.

Do you have to take blood thinner before or after chemical cardioversion?

A medicine called blood thinner may be given before and after the procedure to reduce your risk of blood clots especially if you have atrial fibrillation or flutter. Each of the medicines used in chemical cardioversion has risks and possible side effects. Ask your healthcare provider about the risks of the medicines you will be using.