According to information provided from a recent Flec-SL trial, short-term antiarrhythmic drug treatments may be more effective at preventing AF than long-term antiarrhythmic drug treatments.

While AF can be successfully treated by patients undergoing an electrical cardioversion, that process doesn’t completely rid the patient of AF because the patient’s AF often recurs after a few weeks or days of having the cardioversion. However, using antiarrhythmic drug treatments may be able to reverse process that causes the AF recurrences. The problem so far has been finding the right medication to do that safely and effectively.

The German Competence Network on Atrial Fibrillation, AFNET, has conducted a study that has shown that using short-term drug treatments after a cardioversion procedure is safer and cheaper than long-term drug treatments. The shorter drug treatment process is called therapeutic de-escalation. AFNET’s study was assessed by researchers using flecainide (Flec-SL) and was led by Professors Paulus Kirchhof, Birmingham, UK and Guenter Breithardt, Muenster, Germany.

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from over 600 participants from different German centers between May 2007 and March 2010. The patients were assigned to different groups and treated with flecainide for either four weeks or six months. The researchers also used as a control group patients who didn’t take any drugs. They then monitored the patients’ AF recurrences by using daily trans-telephonic ECGs. The researchers found that the long-term treatment was better than the short-term treatment, but the short-term treatment prevented recurrences of AF.

Various drugs are used to treat AF patients. One of those drugs is the anticoagulant Multaq. Multaq has been proven to be extremely dangerous. Research and clinical trials have proven that the drug causes patients to develop liver failure and a worsening of their heart conditions. The FDA does not recommend using Multaq unless all other drugs have failed.

If you or a loved one have developed liver failure or a worsening of your heart condition after using Multaq, contact attorney Greg Jones today for a free consultation. I am experienced at fighting Multaq lawsuits and may be able to help you recover money for your injuries.