Open AccessRestoration of Sinus Rhythm in Patients With Persistent Atrial Fibrillation and Obesity: New Possibilities of Pharmacological Cardioversion
Author(s) -
S. P. Golitsyn,
Marina Saidova,
С. Ф. Соколов,
V. V. Vlodzyanovskiy,
Т. А. Малкина,
Л. В. Розенштраух,
E. I. Chazov
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
kardiologiâ
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.159
H-Index - 16
eISSN - 2412-5660
pISSN - 0022-9040
DOI - 10.18087/cardio.2017.10.10036
Subject(s) - cardioversion , atrial fibrillation , sinus rhythm , medicine , electrical cardioversion , cardiology , obesity , anesthesia
We present in this article 2 cases of successful pharmacological restoration of sinus rhythm by a new class III antiarrhythmic drug refralon in patients with obesity and persistent atrial fibrillation. In both cases, the effective use of refralon was preceded by repeated ineffective attempts of electrical cardioversion. In the article we discuss the role of obesity as the factor leading to a substantial increase of transthoracic electrical resistance, and thus significantly reducing the probability of sinus rhythm restoration by means of electrical cardioversion. The clinical examples described in this article clearly show that the use of refralon may represent a unique clinical alternative to electrical cardioversion for sinus rhythm restoration in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation, and in some cases where the success of electrical cardioversion is obviously questionable, like in patients with severe obesity, the use of refralon seems preferable.