AF

I was recently diagnosed with paroxysmal AF. My cardiologist put me on Eliquin and also wants me to take amidiarone 200 mg. I read bad reports about the side effects and am hesitant taking it. I am also on propranolol and when AF occurs my HR is about 70. Does anyone have experience with amidiarone, either good or bad. Ablation is out since I have 3 leaky valves. I am a 92yr old male

I vote a strong no on the amiodarone. While it is the strongest rhythm drug, it has many side effects. It has a lot of iodine and can cause thyroid issues. I've never taken it, but there are many that have who can give you their experience. This is a search on our site on amiodarone, you can read as many of the posts as you care to get a sense: [www.afibbers.org]

Afib has two serious risks: 1) cardiomyopathy leading to heart failure from long duration (days/weeks) high heart rate (say > 100-110 BPM); 2) stroke from a clot potentiated by afib because of low atrial flow during afib. Your 70 BPM afib heart rate is not an issue for #1. If you go on Eliquis, you've mitigated your risk for #2. Hence I see no reason to take on the amiodarone side effect risks!

In my 16 yrs. learned here btw. Ive never taken amio nor digoxin! So i second George s rec. no way. You said cardiologist. Find an EP
And start taking magnesium!

I agree with Poppino and George. Amio should be way down on the list, and more importantly, find yourself an experienced EP ( electrician) if your present doc is a "Plumber".

I am having problem with Magnesium so I use Dr. Dean's Re-Mag liquid and mix it with my drinking water. Here keep in mind that the common serum magnesium test that your doctor usually work with is for all practical purposes useless and mean diddly squat. Go and read Dr Goodman's "Magnificent Magnesium" if you like to know more. Potassium is another mineral that you may benefit from to calm things down, but if you have kidney problems you must be very careful.

Rolf

I had highly symptomatic paroxysmal afib with extremely high heart rates (>180 bpm) from 2002 to 2017, dealt with 3 different EPs, tried almost every antiarrhythmic drug there is, and not once did any of those doctors so much as mention amiodarone. I mentioned it once to one of the doctors and he just shook his head and said, "I would never put you on amiodarone."

My opinion: A resounding NO to amiodarone. It should be the drug of last resort, not the first choice.

But more importantly, when you're in afib, how do you feel? Does it have a big impact on your quality of life? Does it limit your activities? Does it make you feel dizzy or faint?

If you answered no to all those questions, then I question why you need to do anything at all. What you're doing now is appropriate and sufficient to prevent all the bad stuff afib can cause. If you do experience severe symptoms, there are other, safer drugs you can try first.