heart and blood vessel disorders
Drugs to Treat Abnormal Heart Rhythms
Introduction
There are many Causes (arrhythmias). Some arrhythmias are harmless and do not need treatment. Sometimes arrhythmias stop on their own or with changes in lifestyle, such as avoiding alcohol, Antiarrhythmic drugs are useful for suppressing fast arrhythmias that cause intolerable symptoms or pose a risk. No single drug suppresses all arrhythmias in all people. Sometimes several drugs must be tried until the response is satisfactory. Sometimes antiarrhythmic drugs can worsen or even cause arrhythmias. This effect is called proarrhythmia. Antiarrhythmic drugs may also cause other side effects. There are many different antiarrhythmic drugs, which are divided into groups based on how they work. The main groups include beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, potassium channel blockers, and sodium channel blockers. (adrenaline). In the heart, this blockade slows the natural pacemaker activity of heart cells and slows conduction of impulses through the heart's Normal electrical pathway . Calcium, potassium, and sodium are Overview of Electrolytes that flow in and out of heart cells and are responsible for the heart's normal electrical activity. These electrolytes flow through the walls of heart cells through microscopic pores called channels. There are separate channels for each electrolyte. Blocking one of these channels can slow conduction through the heart's electrical system and/or decrease the natural pacemaker activity of heart cells. Important antiarrhythmic drugs that are not in these classes includeadenosineanddigoxin. These drugs work by different ways to slow conduction of impulses through the atrioventricular node (AV node). In normal people, the AV node is the only electrical connection between the atria and ventricles. 