No other antiarrhythmic showed a significant effect on mortality compared with controls .
Class IA , IC , and III drugs are effective in maintaining sinus rhythm but increase adverse effects , and class IA drugs may increase mortality
BACKGROUND A variety of antiarrhythmic drugs have been used to prevent recurrence of atrial fibrillation after conversion to sinus rhythm .
We performed a systematic review to determine the effect of long-term treatment with those drugs on death , embolisms , adverse effects , and atrial fibrillation recurrence .
Propafenone versus disopyramide for maintenance of sinus rhythm after electrical cardioversion of chronic atrial fibrillation: A randomized, double-blind study
Summary Safety and efficacy of propafenone and disopyramide for long-term maintenance of sinus rhythm after electrical cardioversion was studied in 56 patients with chronic altrial fibrillation ( median arrhythmia duration , 5 months ) . After cardioversion , patients were r and omly assigned to receive double-blind propafenone 300 mg tid ( 25 patients ) or disopyramide 250 mg tid ( 31 patients ) . Downward dose adjustment was allowed in case of intolerable side effects . The endpoints were arrhythmia recurrence ; and side effects not amenable to dose reduction . For patients r and omized to propafenone ( mean dose , 878±65 mg/day ) , 66 % [ 95 % confidence interval [ ( CI ) 46–85 % ] and 55 % ( 95 % CI , 34–76 % ) remained in sinus rhythm at 3 and 6 months , respectively ( Kaplan-Meier method ) . Similar figures were found with disopyramide ( mean dose , 704±81 mg/day ) : 71 % ( 95 % CI , 54–87 % ) and 67 % ( 95 % CI , 50–84 % ) at 3 and 6 months , respectively ( p = NS ) . In the patients with a relapse of atrial fibrillation , the ventricular rate while still using the prophylactic agents did not increase significantly compared with precardioversion . However , one patient on disopyramide had an excessively high relapse heart rate ( 170 vs. 100 beats/min ) . Side effects were more frequent on disopyramide . Side effects necessitating drug discontinuation occurred in 12 patients : 4 patients ( 16 % ) on propafenone and 8 ( 26 % ) on disopyramide  . Severe adverse effects occurred in two patients , who developed heart failure while on disopyramide . There were no proarrhythmic events or deaths . Thus , propafenone and disopyramide are equally effective for maintaining sinus rhythm after cardioversion of atrial fibrillation . Propafenone is , however , better tolerated  than disopyramide , which may cause heart failure
No other antiarrhythmic showed a significant effect on mortality compared with controls .
Class IA , IC , and III drugs are effective in maintaining sinus rhythm but increase adverse effects , and class IA drugs may increase mortality
BACKGROUND A variety of antiarrhythmic drugs have been used to prevent recurrence of atrial fibrillation after conversion to sinus rhythm .
We performed a systematic review to determine the effect of long-term treatment with those drugs on death , embolisms , adverse effects , and atrial fibrillation recurrence .