Efficacy and safety of amiodarone combined with telmisartan for prevention of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation

Abstract

Objective: To observe the efficacy and safety of amidarone combined with telmisartan for prevention of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.Methods: A total of 204 patients with hypertension and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation were randomly divided into test and control groups by digit table.Patients in the two groups took amiodarone 600 mg/d in the first week,400 mg/d in the second week,200 mg/d in the third week and 100 mg/d afterwards.Patients in the test group were also treated with telmisartan at the dose of 20-80 mg/d simultaneously.While patients in the control group were treated with other antihypertensive drugs,excluding angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors(ACEIs) and angiotensin receptor blockers(ARBs).All the patients were followed up for six months.Number of cases,times and the first time of atrial fibrillation recurrence as well as adverse drug reactions(ADRs) were recorded.Results: Ninety-one patients in the test group and 95 patients in the control group finished the whole trial.There were significant differences in occurrence of ADRs between test and control groups(56 vs 41,P0.05),primarily with a higher incidence of gastrointestinal reactions.However,the numbers of patients who stopped medicine treatment due to serious ADRs were not obviously different between the two groups(P0.05).The first recurrence time of atrial fibrillation was prolonged [(94.59±30.51) d vs(84.54±28.73)d,P0.05] and incidence of atrial fibrillation recurrence was decreased(32 vs 53,P0.05) in the test group than those in the control group.The numbers of cases of atrial fibrillation recurrence were similar in the two groups within 3 months(15 vs 24,P0.05),and they were reduced significantly in 6 months(26 vs 42,P0.05).Conclusion: The treatment of amiodarone combined with telmisartan is safe and effective for preventing atrial fibrillation recurrence.