Does anyone know if there is any evidence that a cardioversion is more likely to be successful if taking Amiodarone prior to CV? I have been taking 100mg per day for the past 3 months, felt fine at 1st but now I feel it is making me more breathless, and lowering my HB to around 60bpm.
I am due a CV in 3 weeks time, I have asked my GP and he advises me to keep on taking it up to my CV date.
Thanks
Hi! The short answer is that yes, a cardioversion may be more likely to be successful if the rhythm meds are on board prior to and following the cardioversion. Good luck!
Thanks for that.
Depends, default12, on whether the hospital has reviewed your condition properly and Amiodarone is suiting your metabolism. The hospital should be closely reviewing your medications, especially in view of your current concerns .
Have you seen the Wikipedia link? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiod... or other associated links?
I recommend doing a bit of on line research to inform yourself as much as you can default 12, so that you can ask the right questions of your Doctors in respect of yourself.
Kind regards
Mickey16
Yes and more so before and after ablations. Before I had my cardioversion I was in persistent AF and I was only on flecainide, bisoprolol and Apixaban. ThE sole purpose of the cardioversion was to see if I could be returned to sinus rthythm and if I felt better in sinus (yes and yes). My EP was going to have me on Amioderone for 1 month before ablation and 3 months after ablation to help the heart steady so to speak. In the event three weeks before my ablation my liver function was found to be 4 times top of range and EP decided that I should have the ablation without taking Amioderone because that would exacerbate liver function issues and could delay for 6 months or more.
Hi Default
The short answer is Yes, in my case for example after my first CV without Amiodarone I lasted 20 seconds in NSR (I am told) but after 2.5 months of Amiodarone it was more like 8-10 hours (not sure went back into AF while I slept)
It's not the nicest drug in the world, and yes it has some serious side effects, but the most serious ones are from longer term usage, and if you go back into NSR after your CV they will probably not keep you on it for long, or perhaps swap you to one of the other drugs to try and keep you in NSR.
However it's worth bearing in mind, that although we are all different unless you are very young and have gone into AF due to over-exertion or similar, then a CV is unlikely to last forever. There's not such thing as average in AF we are all different, but I think it's fair to say more than most slip back into AF at some stage. However it is an excellent indicator of how well you can be ablated, and often used as a guide for the doctors in that.
Be well and keep taking the tablets
Ian
You ask for references. Here are some of the articles I used when making up my own mind. If you want help to get them, let me know. I will start a thread on how to get references when hit by a pay barrier.
1. Camm J 2012. Antiarrhythmic drugs for the maintenance of sinus rhythm: rishs and benefits. A review article. International Journal of Cardiology vol 155 [362-371
2. Lafuente-Lafuente C et al 2015. Antiarrhymics for maintaining sinus rhythm after cardioversion of atrial fibrillation (review). The Cochrane Library, 2015 issue 3
3. Kirchhof P et al 2012 Short term versus long-term antiarrhymic drug treatment after cardioversion of atrial fibrillation (Flec-SL): a prospective, randomised, open-label, blinded endpoint assessment trial. Lancet vol 380 p238-46
Default12 - check that you do not have any of the contraindications of taking Amiodarone - unfortunately it is not always scrutinised properly in some cases.
Please read the side effects of amiodarone -they are may affect you - as I found out
Amiodarone 
Amiodarone
Amiodarone
