title: Antiarrhythmic drug therapy in the treatment of atrial fibrillation.
abstract: Treatment of atrial fibrillation is often unsatisfactory because no available drug has been shown to be clearly superior for maintaining patients in sinus rhythm, and all agents have significant potential for toxicity. Selection of an antiarrhythmic drug is more likely to be based on the drug's potential for toxicity, rather than its demonstrated superior efficacy in the treatment of atrial fibrillation. Careful assessment of each patient for contraindications to individual agents and the likelihood of treatment success needs to be done before initiating antiarrhythmic therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Charlottesville, USA.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: DiMarco
mesh_terms: D000638:Amiodarone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004594:Electrophysiology; D005424:Flecainide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000187:drug effects; D011802:Quinidine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013015:Sotalol / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013449:Sulfonamides / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; D007473:Ion Channels; D013449:Sulfonamides; C067192:ibutilide; D013015:Sotalol; D011802:Quinidine; D005424:Flecainide; D000638:Amiodarone