TREATING ACQUIRED HEART DISEASE: DRUGS TO SET THE PROPER RHYTHM

There are many ways in which the heart's natural and proper rhythm can be disrupted, and there is a correspondingly large armoury of drugs available to combat these arrhythmias. Among the drugs used to treat rhythm disorders are quinidine, desopyramide, rhythmodan, verapamil and bretylium. Also used are procainamide (a relative of the local anaesthetic, procaine), lignocaine (another local anaesthetic, used to set right a short-term disorder), phenytoin (used for many years to treat epileptic fits but more recently for heart-rhythm disorders), and beta-blockers which, as we have seen, act on the autonomic nervous system to induce calm. As these drugs all have different modes of action, the choice of the particular drug which you will be prescribed will depend on the type of rhythm disorder from which you are suffering.

Side-effects are again possible and problematical: they include rashes, headaches, sore throats, vomiting, cramp and diarrhoea. See your doctor should any of these occur.

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CARDIO & BLOOD