Atrial Fibrillation

[cherring]

I got two attacks of atrial fibrillation this past summer, had to go to the hospital. Doctor finally put me on amniodorone generic Pacerone, Lanoxin and Lopressor (Metropolol generic) plus I was already on Lisinopril, Cardizem (Diltiazem) plus Diazide. It all works ok and I feel quite well even with all the meds. I have a nice slow pulse with a few a fibs from time to time. (been taking the Zestrel,(Lisinopril),Diltiazem and Diazine for many years). I have a slightly bad valve also called a mitral stenosis which isn't giving me a big problem right now thank heavens.
Recently after those bad summer months,I noticed my eyesight was 'fuzzy' so I went to the optomitrist and he sent me to an opthamologist who said I had started to get deposits on my eye lens. He asked me point blank if I was taking Amniodorone because he recognized the deposits on my lens. Now, I am scheduled for cataract surgery but am wondering if there is a new replacement for that Amniodorone which has those horrendous side effects (lots of them!) Is there a new heart beat regulator without so many side effects or maybe I could get off that amniodorone altogether! Anybody know about this? Thanks for any info I can mention to my cardiologist? Thanks. Cecil (ms)

[Sunny Day]

I wish I knew a drug that would cure or correct rather than mask symptoms. I am looking. I just had an echo cardiogram today and They were going to try to shock me into rhythm but the Doc found an (almost clot) in my atrium and he put me on warfarin for one month to thin my blood first. My potassium was also low. The doc said my atrium was not even working. Her has hopes of starting it. I had no idea that my a-fib was that bad until I went hiking at 5,000 ft. It wiped me out until it slowed down.

I want a cure not symptom masking drugs. I will post what I find. I never had this until I took Redux to lose weight. It was pulled from the market and there was a class action suit for heart valve damage. I may rev up my attorney now. I am 62 and other than a weight problem I was planning on living a whole life until 100 when I would just drop dead. I will need to attack this problem if it is possible. A friend of mine in his late seventies had two ablations performed and stopped his a-fib.

I will post my discoveries in hopes that it might help someone.

[mprossi65]

Good news. There is a new drug that is in final trials for atrial fib. Same molecule, different formulation. Supposed to have less side effects. No matter what your age, you must keep BP cholesterol and blood sugar in check to live a long healthy life. A diet low in animal fat, high in natural un-processed foods. Pharma companies are not coming out with the fix for your heart-ever! A doctor can only treat symptoms and correct what is wrong at the moment. You can not expect miracles. It is up to the individual to take care of their diet and excercise. The list of drugs you are on should alarm you not make you feel good that you have them.

[mprossi65]

New drug out in 2009. Same molecule, different formulation. Don't expect anything else coming out. Most big pharma companies are downsizing- no profit,no research.

[John18]

Multaq has been approved for A-Fib.It is basically amiodarone withe the iodine taken out of it,it is supposed to be a safer version of the amiodarone.It was recently approved by the FDA and should be on the market by now,if not,it should be quite soon.

It supposedly reduced deaths and hospital stays by I think 24% during its testing.

It might be worth a try.

[John18]

Something else that a person might consider is rate control instead of the rhythm control.

Rate control slows the heart down and helps keep the lower chambers from beating fast as they sometimes do in an A-Fib episode.The upper chambers may be in permanent A-Fib but you seldom notice or feel anything.

As long as you dont have a lot of symptoms of the A-Fib and not short of breath while on the rate control,it may be an alternative for some.Studies have shown that it is comparable to to rhythm control and in some,there are fewer hospital stays.

My Mom is on the rate control and she says that she feels since she isnt having to take the rhythm drugs.

Here are a couple of links to the study.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18565859

http://ebm.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/8/5/140