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Cardiovascular Medicine

Pharmacological Therapy of Cardiac Arrhythmias: Atrial Fibrillation, Current Treatment and Novel Agents

Cardiac arrhythmias may be seen in individuals with known cardiovascular disease (i.e., coronary artery disease (CAD) or valvular abnormalities) or even in those without known cardiac illnesses. The spectrum of cardiac arrhythmias varies between more self-limited or minimally symptomatic findings such as palpitations, which may be associated with premature supraventricular or ventricular beats that many experience, to the more worrisome ventricular fibrillation, a known cause of sudden cardiac arrest for which emergency cardiac resuscitation is required.
CME credit is no longer available for this conference.

Course Authors

Mohan N. Viswanathan, M.D.

Release Date: 06/06/2011

 
Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this Cyberounds®, you should be able to:

  • Discuss the extent of the clinical problem of atrial fibrillation

  • Describe the mechanisms underlying the generation of the cardiac action potential, the ion channels and the factors involved in generating the excitation impulse

  • Enumerate the leading ideas about the electrophysiological mechanisms underlying the development of atrial fibrillation

  • Apply the currently available antiarrhythmic medications that are used as rhythm control agents to treat atrial fibrillation, and be able to categorize them via the Vaughan Williams antiarrhythmic classification system

  • Discuss a few new agents that have just become available or will become available or are under development for atrial fibrillation and the strategies to limit the side effects of the currently available agents.

 

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the sponsor or its publisher. Please review complete prescribing information of specific drugs or combination of drugs, including indications, contraindications, warnings and adverse effects before administering pharmacologic therapy to patients.

 

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