Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2026

The WATCHMAN Left Atrial Appendage Closure Device for Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: February 28, 2012
[Amiodarone: treatment or cause of atrial fibrillation?]
1Département de médecine générale HUG, 121 I Gèneve. gilles.allali@hcuge.ch
Abstract:
Amiodarone has long been the anti-arrhythmic drug of choice for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. We use a clinical case report to illustrate the difficulty of treating this arrhythmia, which is frequent in older adults, by explaining the physiopathology of one of its side effects: hyperthyroidism. TSH should be measured in patients with recurrent atrial fibrillation under treatment in order to exclude an amiodarone-induced thyroid dysfunction. In the geriatric population, the control of ventricular rate is often preferred over a conversion in sinus rhythm because the anti-arrhythmic drugs used for conversion have serious side effects.
Related Concept Videos
Disturbances in Heart Rhythm
Arrhythmias are categorized by their speed, rhythm, and origin. A slow heart...
ECG Interpretation of Arrhythmias II: Atrial, Junctional and Ventricular Arrhythmias
Antiarrhythmic Drugs: Class III Agents as Potassium Channel Blockers
Dysrhythmias VI: Management of Dysrhythmias
Mechanism of Cardiac Arrhythmias
Antiarrhythmic Drugs: Class IV Agents as Calcium Channel Blockers
Verapamil, a calcium channel blocker, inhibits calcium movement across myocardial cell membranes and vascular smooth muscle. This results in the dilation of coronary and...

