ANTIARRHYTHMIC DRUGS
Symptomatic tachycardias & premature beats may be treated with a variety of antiarrhythmic drugs. These may be given IV in an emergency situation or orally for long-term treatment.
These drugs either suppress the abnormal firing of pacemaker tissue or depress the transmission of impulses in tissues that either conduct too rapidly or participate in reentry.
In patients with atrial fibrillation, a blood thinner (anticoagulant or antiplatelet agent such as aspirin) is usually added to reduce the risk of blood clots & stroke.
When tachycardias or premature beats occur often, the effectiveness of antiarrhythmic drug therapy may be gauged by ekg monitoring in a hospital, by using a 24-hour Holter monitor or by serial drug evaluation with electrophysiologic testing.
The relative simplicity of antiarrhythmic drug therapy must be balanced against two disadvantages.
One is that the drugs must be taken daily & indefinitely.
The otheer is the risk of side effects. While side effects are a risk of all medication, those associated with antiarrhythmic drugs can be very hard to manage. They include proarrhythmia, the more-frequent occurrence of preexisting arrhythmias or the appearance of new arrhythmias as bad as or worse than those being tested.
ANTIARRHYTHMIC DRUGS include:
Amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone)
Bepridil Hydrochloride (Vascor)
Disopyramide (Norpace)
Dofetilide (Tikosyn)
Flecainide (Tambocor)
Ibutilide (Corvert)
Lidocaine (Xylocaine)
Procainamide (Procan, Procanbid)
Propafenone (Rythmol)
Propranolol (Inderal)
Quinidine (many trade names)
Sotalol (Betapace)
Tocainide (Tonocarid)
CALCIUM CHANNEL BLOCKERS
Calcium channel blockers, also known as "calcium antagonists," work by interrupting the movement of calcium into heart & blood vessel tissue.
Besides being used to treat high blood pressure, they're also used to treat angina (chest pain)and/or some arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms).
Some CALCIUM CHANNEL BLOCKERS include:
Amlodipine (Norvasc, Lotrel)
Diltiazem (Cardizem, Cartia, Dilacor, Diltia, Tiazac)
Fekodipine (Plendil)
Isradipine (Dynacirc)
Nicardipine (Cardene)
Nifedipine (Adalat, Procardia)
Nimodipine (Nimotop)
Verapamil (Calan, Covera, Isoptin, Verelan)
BETA-BLOCKERS
Beta-blockers decrease the heart rate & cardiac output, which lowers blood pressure by blocking the effects of adrenalin.
They also used with therapy for cardiac arrhythmias
Used in treating angina pectoris (chest-pain).
Some CALCIUM CHANNEL BLOCKERS include:
Acebutolol (Sectral)
Atenolol (Tenormin)
Betaxolol (Kerlone)
Bisoprolol/Hydrochlorothiazide (Zebeta, Ziac)
Carteolol (Cartrol)
Esmolol (Brevibloc)
Metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol)
Nadolol (Corgard)
Penbutolol (Levatol)
Pindolol (Visken)
Timolol (Blocadren)
ANTICOAGULANTS
Anticoagulants (blood thinners) work by making it harder for the blood to clot, or coagulate. They are not designed to dissolve existing blood clots.
They prevent new clots from forming or existing clots from getting larger. Because a common type of stroke is caused by a blood clot obstructing blood flow to the brain, anticoagulants are often prescribed for people with certain conditions to prevent occurrence of a first stroke or to prevent the recurrence if patient has already had a stroke.
Anticoagulants are also given to certain people at risk for forming blood clots such as those with artificial heart valves, or who have atrial fibrillation.
Some ANTICOAGULANTS include:
Heparin
Warfain (Coumadin)