Amiodarone for PVCs

[Juan P. Negret]

Two weeks ago, my physician tried Metoprolol for my PVCs, but it is not helping. Now, he is saying that I could try Amiodorone. Is this a good idea?

Juan P.

 

[kfay]

In a word, No! At least not if you are planning on being on it for any length of time. Have you looked it up and seen the side effects it can cause? There is now a new "version" of Amiodarone called Dronedarone that doesn't have the iodine in it. I think there are already a few people on here who are on it. I may go on it myself soon.

Kim

 

[David L]

In a word, No! At least not if you are planning on being on it for any length of time. Have you looked it up and seen the side effects it can cause? There is now a new "version" of Amiodarone called Dronedarone that doesn't have the iodine in it. I think there are already a few people on here who are on it. I may go on it myself soon.

Kim

Dronedarone is also known as Multaq. I started it yesterday, and am in my 3rd day of a-fib. It is expensive, mine was $30 co-pay, otherwise it's $7 per pill and you take 2 a day.
I have another post on here, and I'll let the forum know how it works for me!!

David L

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Amiodarone is the SLEDGE HAMMER of antiarrhythmics.
Doctors like it because "It Works" and they can discharge patients quickly. It has a Half Life of 6 months or more and is Very Toxic if taken large doses or for too long.

EDIT - The Half Life of Amiodarone is 40 to 55 DAYS.
It takes approximately 6 months to be 'effectively eliminated' from the body.

That is the SHORT version. Do a Search or GOOGLE for the rest of the story. Even the FDA has a warning against using it as a First line of defense.

There are Several Beta Blockers that are effective against PAC's and PVC's. TOPROL and TOPROL XL (time release version) have been used successfully by many here.

I suggest asking you Doc to explore other alternatives FIRST.

The claim for Dronedrone (Multaq) is that it works like amiodarone but has way fewer / less severe side effects. I would still try the others first.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[hensylee]

plenty of posts about amiodarone in VR. type amiodarone in 'search' (above) and you will find many, many posts - mostly against it.

 

[neil]

hi i was on it for just over 2 month,i know theres a lot bad things said about it but must say it worked a treat for me,but cardio did also say its not a drug you wanna be on a long time,he gave the impression its ok over a short period,hope you get it sorted

 

[catwoman]

There are Several Beta Blockers that are effective against PAC's and PVC's. TOPROL and TOPROL XL (time release version) have been used successfully by many here.

Since Juan has used metoprolol and it hasn't worked, Toprol & Toprol XL are probably out, since they're the same thing. Don't know what difference is in the XL version.

What about sotalol? I think that's been mentioned as an alternative to amiodarone.

 

[kfay]

Since Juan has used metoprolol and it hasn't worked, Toprol & Toprol XL are probably out, since they're the same thing. Don't know what difference is in the XL version.

What about sotalol? I think that's been mentioned as an alternative to amiodarone.

I have been through too many conversations with at least 10 cardios and EP Dr.'s both at home and at the Mayo clinic regarding the best drugs to treat these annoying PAC's/PVC's. I brought up the option of Sotalol since it has been mentioned here so many times. I was told by more than one Dr. that it does have a large beta blocker component and since the beta blockers didn't help my situation (in fact, they made it worse) then this med would not be something they would suggest. So, I'm wondering if Juan's Dr. feels the same way.

 

[Juan P. Negret]

Thank you for you replies.

1) - What types of PVCs or PACs are considered life threatening?
2) - Are 17 days of Metoprolol (50 mg) enough time to judge its effectiveness for PVCs? I am also taking 75 mg daily of Propafenone for the same thing.
3) - I am also taking 200 mg of Simvastatin. Is this dosage dangereous if combined with 200 mg of Amiodarone?
4) - Should Amiodarone treatment be started in a hospital?

I appreciate your input,

Juan Pablo

 

[ALCapshaw2]

PAC's and PVC's
(Premature Atrial Contracitons and Premature Ventricular Contractions)
are generally considered to be Benigh UNLESS they occur on every / every other heartbeat. Then the Doc's start to get a little concerned. (...and yes, PAC / PVC can feel 'uncomfortable' and leave you feeling weak)

Sotalol seems to do a Good Job of controlling Atrial Fibrilation (A-Fib) which is it's primary application from my understanding. Since it is a type of BetaBlocker, I expect it works on PAC's and PVC's also but perhaps not as well as some other Beta Blockers that are designed primarly for those conditions. Ask you Cardio or Pharmacist about those fine divisions.

Ventricular Fibriation is one of the Dangerous Arrhythmias if I remember correctly. I'm not sure which other ones are considered dangerous. Hopefully someone else can add that piece of information.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Bina]

Amiodarone is the SLEDGE HAMMER of antiarrhythmics.
Doctors like it because "It Works" and they can discharge patients quickly. It has a Half Life of 6 months or more and is Very Toxic if taken large doses or for too long.

That is the SHORT version. Do a Search or GOOGLE for the rest of the story. Even the FDA has a warning against using it as a First line of defense.

There are Several Beta Blockers that are effective against PAC's and PVC's. TOPROL and TOPROL XL (time release version) have been used successfully by many here.

I suggest asking you Doc to explore other alternatives FIRST.

The claim for Dronedrone (Multaq) is that it works like amiodarone but has way fewer / less severe side effects. I would still try the others first.

'AL Capshaw'

Correction:
Amiodarone's mean half life is 40-55 days.
It will take an average of 6 months for the drug to be completely out of your system as it is not secreted by the liver and kidneys.

 

[kfay]

Thank you for you replies.

1) - What types of PVCs or PACs are considered life threatening?
2) - Are 17 days of Metoprolol (50 mg) enough time to judge its effectiveness for PVCs? I am also taking 75 mg daily of Propafenone for the same thing.
3) - I am also taking 200 mg of Simvastatin. Is this dosage dangereous if combined with 200 mg of Amiodarone?
4) - Should Amiodarone treatment be started in a hospital?

I appreciate your input,

Juan Pablo

Juan, Whenever I go on a new med for rhythm issues, I try and give it 6-8 weeks to see if it is going to work, unless it is causing more problems. So, at 17 days, I personally would give it a little more time. I'm not sure if Amiodarone needs to be started in the hospital. I think most of us on here who have been on it were started on it while we were in the hospital after our surgeries.

Has your Dr. mentioned an EP study and cardiac ablation to try and track down your pvc's? If not, it might be worth persuing. I mean, to me, if I could have them taken care of without having to take a drug for the rest of your life, I would go for it. Unfortunately for me, I had two ablation tries that were not successful, so drug therapy is all that is left for me.

Kim

 

[debster913]

Thank you for you replies.

1) - What types of PVCs or PACs are considered life threatening?
2) - Are 17 days of Metoprolol (50 mg) enough time to judge its effectiveness for PVCs? I am also taking 75 mg daily of Propafenone for the same thing.
3) - I am also taking 200 mg of Simvastatin. Is this dosage dangereous if combined with 200 mg of Amiodarone?
4) - Should Amiodarone treatment be started in a hospital?

I appreciate your input,

Juan Pablo

Hi, Juan--
1) My cardio and EP doctor both disagree on this. My cardio says PVCs are not life threatening. In fact, at my appointment with him today, he said, "I have never heard of anyone dying from PVCs. They're harmless." On the other hand, my EP says over time, too many PVCs can weaken the heart and cause other heart issues.
2) Yes, I would say so. I usually give myself about 2 weeks to try out a new drug, unless the side effects are so bad that I have to call my cardio and get off the drug.
3) I wouldn't know. Best to ask your doctor. Same with #4.

Juan, I would strongly suggest you not take amio for a long period of time without discussion with your cardio first. I have had severe issues with PVCs and have had most, but not all successfully ablated. You might want to consult with an EP regarding ablation if your PVCs are that bad. I have heard way too many things about amio that have stirred up much debate here on VR. Even my cardio says amio is a "last resort drug" when all else has failed to work.

Best,

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Correction:
Amiodarone's mean half life is 40-55 days.
It will take an average of 6 months for the drug to be completely out of your system as it is not secreted by the liver and kidneys.

Bina - Thank you for the Correction. You are RIGHT.

I should have said that it takes 6 months for Amiodarone to be effectively eliminated from the body instead of my erroneous half-life comment. I will edit my original post with this correction.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[neil]

firstly i agree its not a drug you would go on for fun ,but there is a lot of people who have used it and been ok,to advise somebody strongly not to go on it is a bit steep,surely that would be best coming from a his cardio who knows all the ins and outs of this certain case?

 

[Bridgette]

My cardiologist said that Amiodarone is definitely not his first choice of drug to treat rhythm issues as it can be "toxic" when used for long periods. In saying that, though, there are some patients that don't respond to other drugs, and they have to use Amiodarone for a while to try and sort out the issues (his words).
Juan, you could bring up your concerns with your cardiologist.

 

[zipper2]

From experience i had on this amiodarone wasnot pleasant
and at time i didnt know till after the effects and harm it
can do,were all different but in my opinion being on it close
to 4 months was worst time of my whole surgery and this
part not knowing really angered me i dont feel my
surgeon was honest and at time i had no cardio to this
day my cardio states hes not a believer of it and it can cause
damage and not sure how it effected my eating,but i lost alot
of weight and i am still not to normal with eating i have to force
myself and i believe my cardio it takes 6 months in your system
after it is initially stopped,so whats it still doing to me?

My afib went away whatever but im into 8 months of surgery now
been noticing some weird fluttering like an old reminder of my 10
years with afib returning....not sure but i see my cardio again in
Jan and will rule it out for sure,less it gets worse

Yep be careful and get answers for yourself regarding some drugs
that enter our system....Good luck,God bless