[Non-antiarrhythmic pharmacological treatment of atrial fibrillation: focus on drugs acting on the renin-angiotensin system].
Atrial fibrillation is the most frequent arrhythmia in clinical practice. It is necessary to look for new therapeutic solutions because of the unsatisfactory efficacy of antiarrhythmic drugs in controlling relapses and the continuous growth of this phenomenon. The study of non-antiarrhythmic drugs that act specifically on atrial remodeling, which is the arrhythmia substrate, is a novel and very interesting field of investigation. Namely, we have been evaluating drugs that act on the renin-angiotensin system for the last few years with very promising, although not univocal, results. In this paper we discuss the rationale of their employment and review the most important data of the literature since 1999.
Durin
Ornella
O
U.O. di Cardiologia, A.O. Ospedale Maggiore, Crema (CR). cardiologia@hcrema.it
Pedrinazzi
Claudio
C
Inama
Giuseppe
G
D000804:Angiotensin II / Q000502:physiology; D047228:Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000818:Animals; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016275:Atrial Function / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D004285:Dogs; D006801:Humans; D012084:Renin-Angiotensin System / Q000502:physiology
D047228:Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; D000804:Angiotensin II