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For atrial fibrillation (AF) patients, amiodarone appears to be a more effective treatment than digoxin, which is currently the most widely used treatment for AF patients. Researchers treated patients with an I.V. bolus of either 450 mg amiodarone, followed by a 10-mL saline flush, or 0.6 mg digoxin. At 30 minutes, if the heart rate remained above 100 beats/minute, a second bolus (300 mg amiodarone or 0.4 mg digoxin) was administered. Within the first 30 minutes, normal sinus rhythm had been achieved in 6% of patients treated with digoxin, compared with 28% of amiodarone patients. After 60 minutes, the digoxin group had an average ventricular heart rate of 105.3; 94.2 beats/minute for the amiodarone group.

 

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Reuters Health. Amiodarone beats digoxin in therapy for atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular rate. Available at: http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2006/07/04/professional/links/20060704clin0. Accessed December 13, 2006.