Sotahexal

[Falkovec]

Hello,

Is there anyone taking sotahexal?

Is it well tolerated by the body? What are the most common side effects of sotahexal?

[jeanjeannie50]

We call it Sotalol here in the U.K. I used it as a pill in the pocket briefly many years ago and can't really remember much about it, other that not taking it for very long.

Jean

[BenHall1]

Hiya,

What Jean says is correct and I have been on Sotalol ( Sotahexal ) since late April/early May 2024. I understand it to be an anti arrythmic drug and in the same family as Bisoprolol and Nebivolol.

I was first diagnosed with paroxysmal AF in January 2010 and, among other drugs was put on Bisoprolol (5mg) at that time and stayed on it until August 2023 at which time it began to give me unwelcome side effects like immense tiredness.

My GP then changed this from Bisoprolol to Nebivolol (5mg) and I stayed on this drug until April/May 2024 when my heart began to misbehave again after years of being under control, my Cardiac Consultant ( a different person to my GP and a specialist in arrythmias ) prescribed Sotalol ( Sotahexal ), 40mg to be taken in morning and 40mg to be taken at night.

In my experience, Sotalol is the most powerful of the 3 drugs, however, it is also giving me the greatest lethargy ( unreal tiredness) ......... that's the cost side ........ the benefit side is that it is absolutely dynamic/brilliant a controlling BOTH my Blood Pressure and heart rate ( when taken with other BP medications ) and my current average readings are around 127/80 with a HR of around 72 bpm.

However, in terms of the tiredness I must also say that I turn 80 in September and so age must be a factor here. The Cardiac Consultant will review this drug in October 2024 before making any further decisions. Personally, I would not worry if I continued staying on the drug on a more permanent basis.

Hope that helps.

John

[Falkovec in reply to BenHall1]

I am currently on cordarone. My cardiologist wants me to switch to sotahexal because it has less harmful side effects than cordarone. Cordarone and sotalol are group 3 antiarrhythmics, potassium channel blockers. Sotahexal is actually an analogue of cordarone. I am interested especially how it affects the heart rate (PULSE), because my heart rate is always below 60 beats per minute.

[Ppiman in reply to Falkovec]

I have been given flecainide and my specialist said that this was a better drug than sotalol, which is an older treatment in the UK. He didn't expand on why. Sotalol is a beta blocker as potent in that respect as others such as bisoprolol, I gather, so will somewhat reduce your heart rate, for sure. The actual slowing effect when studied in trials seems quite modest, with an even more modest effect on blood pressure, but, as reported here, individuals seem to vary and a few seem unable to cope with these drugs.

The anti-arrhythmic properties of sotalol seem less potent than flecainide, but, if you use the search bar at the top of the page here, you will find many posts about it, mostly positive if I recall them. All anti-arrhythmic do carry a slight risk of more serious side effects compared with straight beta blockers, hence their being reserved as second line and needing heart checks before prescribing.

An odd but interesting aspect of anti-arrhythmic treatments (including catheter ablation) is that long term survival studies so far show that treating the arrhythmia itself confers no benefits except on improving quality of life, i.e. the anti arrhythmic effects help with symptom relief only, if that makes sense. I think only drugs such as beta blockers and antihypertensives (used to help arrhythmias sometimes for ventricular protection) have been shown to have potentially life extending benefits.

Steve

[Dudtbin]

i am on sotalol and have had no problems and no af

[Falkovec]

How long have you been on sotalol?

How is your heart rate? How many beats per minute is your heart rate?

[BaileyC57]

I took it for a short time and it made me dizzy, I took 40 mg because the higher dose I believe it was 80 made me short of breath!