Table 2.

Drugs used for rhythm control in atrial fibrillation

Drugs	Adult dosage	Advantages	Side effects
Amiodarone	2.5-5 mg/kg IV over 20 min then 15 mg/kg or 1.2 g over 24 h	Can be used in patients with severe LV dysfunction	Thyroid and hepatic dysfunction, torsades de pointes, pulmonary fibrosis, photosensitivity, bradycardia
Procainamide	10-15 mg/kg IV up to 50 mg/min	Therapeutic leavels quickly achieved	Hypotension, fever, accumulates in renal failure, can worsen heart failure, requires drug-level monitoring
Ibutilide	1 mg IV over 10 min, can repeat after 10 min ifno effect	Easy to use	Torsades de pointes more frequent than with amiodarone and procainamide

IV = intravenous; LV = left ventricular.