do af meds stop it or treat the symptoms?

[Tilly1957]

do any of the medications involved with treating AF actually stop it happening,? Or are they used to keep rate/rythym/blood pressure etc within acceptable ranges to minimise symptoms/effects/risk?

Hope that makes sense!

[Hidden]

Good Morning Tilly1957, we have a booklet here: heartrhythmalliance.org/afa... called 'Atrial fibrillation (AF) drug information' which you may find useful to read, it explains what the different drugs are, what they are for, and how they work. Hope this helps.

[Tilly1957 in reply to Hidden]

thank you x

[BobD Volunteer]

Beta blockers and calcium channel blockers merely keep the heart rate down during events where NSR is not attainable,. Anti arrhythmic drugs like amiodarone, flecianide and propafanone attempt to maintain NSR.

Since AF is not a life threatening condition any and all treatment is for quality of life (QOL) in other words symptom control.

[Tilly1957 in reply to BobD]

thank you, that makes sense x

[MarkS]

No drugs "treat" your AF, i.e. there is nothing you take for a period, is stops the AF and is a permanent solution. Some drugs are supposed to stop AF as long as you continue taking them, e.g. flecainide, amiodarone, etc. but you're lucky if they work for you. However the AF remains, it is just suppressed. Even an ablation just suppresses the AF, does not treat the underlying cause and is for QoL only. One of these days we might discover a proper treatment for the underlying cause (inflammation) but we're a long way away, I'm afraid.

If your AF is caused by lifestyle factors then you might have more success at changing those.

[Tilly1957 in reply to MarkS]

thank you

[secondtry]

I think MarkS's reply, as usual ,nails it. I would add I believe in the majority of cases AF is caused by not just one factor, hence the impossibility of pinpointing 'the culprit', which would make actual treatment so much easier.

Most drugs incl for AF just mask the issue with varying degrees of success as everyone has varying degrees of the AF problem. I agreed to pills to buy me time to fix the cause.

For me, the journey was first to establish I had Lone PAF ie no physical abnormalities or comorbidities. I then took the drug (Flecainide) to stop the episodes. I then decided it was probably my lifestyle which caused me to tip over into AF so I made comprehensive changes on all aspects (not knowing which was critical) to make sure I covered the causation.

Now having excellent QOL, I am sticking to the drug and the lifestyle changes. I have regular (pre-covid annually) check-ups when I quiz my cardiologist on stopping the Flecainide but he has not agreed yet.

[Tilly1957 in reply to secondtry]

thank you x

[Hidden]

Hi Tilly,

For my money it is ............ "they are used to keep rate/rythym/blood pressure etc within acceptable ranges to minimise symptoms/effects/risk?"

I have had great success from the meds I'm on with this approach.

John

[Tilly1957 in reply to Hidden]

that’s an excellent definition, thank you.

[JOY2THEWORLD49]

Hi

Med control my AF.

But CCB Diltiazem do it better than BBs like Metoprolol, Bisoprolol.

Especially that I have persistent, rapid Heart Rate.

H/R must stay under 100 at rest. Also BP down to 120s over 80s.

cheri JOY

Symptoms like sweating, vert fatigue ob exertion diminish but aF remains.

[Tilly1957 in reply to JOY2THEWORLD49]

thank you x