నైరూప్య

Emerging drugs for atrial fibrillation

David Singh and Steven Singh

Atrial fibrillation is associated with excess morbidity and mortality, especially in the elderly. There are two approaches to the management of patients with atrial fibrillation: rate control or maintenance of sinus rhythm with antiarrhythmic medications. Depending on a patient’s risk profile, both strategies may require anticoagulation. Management of atrial fibrillation may be challenging owing to side effects associated with drugs such as warfarin and antiarrhythmic agents. However, there are currently ongoing efforts to develop newer, safer and more tolerable drugs to treat this nuisance arrhythmia. This article deals with the emerging drugs as potential targets for the management of atrial fibrillation.