Dear Doctor, Alcohol, Atrial Fibrillation & Life after... I get blotted, noxious after drinking only one glass of white wine. Although I do not drink much, I ve had a couple episodes of atrial fibrillation in the past 2 to 3 years. These episodes were serious enough for me to be kept in the ICU of the hospitals I went to. Both lasted for 48 hours+ followed by a couple of days of watch time. Ever since the second episodes, I was prescribed to take Rytmonorm 150 coupled with Coraspin 300 to avoid any blood clots. After 2 years on the treatment, I ve hoped that my heart would be clear of the problem and tried to get off of the medicine. Within 24 hours, my heart started to beat erratically, enough so that I immediately reached for the pills... Along with my heart beating awkwardly, I ve noticed an almost instant pain in my head coupled with a slight but persistent confusion... I have repeatedly told about the combination of effects to a few doctors only to be dismissed at once as there doesn t seem to be any correlation with the heart/brain (as per the doc s opinions)... I have gotten a check-up with my cardiologist a couple of weeks ago and he recommends that I stay on the medication (one of my valve (top?) is 4cm wide whereas it should be at maximum 3.8cm (from memory, and I can t remember what was what exactly). Also, there was another measure from the ECG of 450ms or such between beat... Where it should stay under 450 or 430... Again, I do not recall the exact lingo... My question is simple. Are there any known adverse effect to taking a medication such as Rytmonorm, does it affect the initial problem (atrial fibrillation)? Is there any way to remedy the problem without resorting to ablation (which has a low success rate) or cut through the electrical system (old style)... I really would like to get off the medication. Thank you for your time and feedback on this case. Best Regards, Frederic
Hello, Ritmonorm is for rhythm control that means if you have had episodes of atrial fibrillation that have been resolve in sinus rhythm you must take these medicines, to stay in sinus rhythm and to prevent episodes of atrial fibrillation. If you were my patient, I would consider an anticoagulation treatment (Carlo), because of your atrium diameter. One side effect of Ritmonorm is an elongation of qt SEG on ECG. So if I were you, I would continue using Ritmonorm. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.  