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What Is The Half Life Of Amiodarone Taken For Atrial Fibrillation?
Question: Hello My name is XXXX, I am a heart patient with Nonischemic cardiomyopathy and Atrial Fibrillation. I have been on Amiodarone HCI for over a year, I am having complications from this drug and my heart Dr. took me off of it last Thursday , so this is the 5th day I have not had the med. I was supposed to be scheduled for a new drug that would be monitored in the Hosp. today, but the order did not get placed with the Hosp. and they have no beds available. My question to my heart Dr. and to you is (he has not gotten back with me yet) is how long can I be off the heart medicine with out a new one?
My email is YYYY@YYYY
My email is YYYY@YYYY
Brief Answer:
I would explain as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Dear XXXX,
Hello and welcome and thank you for asking on HCM!
I carefully passed through your question and would explain that Amiodarone HCl has a very long half life (the time needed by our body to clear half of the circulating drug in blood), which means that after stopping taking it, it remains in your blood in therapeutic levels for a very long time (the drug is bounded to plasma proteins).
So, more concretely I would explain that its half life is evaluated to be 27-207 days and it is proven that its effects remain in your blood up to 50 days after discontinuation of this drug.
So for the moment and for the next days, even if you do not take any other anti-arrhythmic drugs, you are still under the prolonged effects of Amiodarone HCl.
I would not recommend starting a new anti-arrhythmic drug during this period because of possible adverse effects related to possible interaction between the new drug and the Amiodarone which is still circulating in your body.
Hope you will find this answer helpful!
Feel free to ask any other questions whenever you need!
Kind regards,
Dr. Iliri
I would explain as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Dear XXXX,
Hello and welcome and thank you for asking on HCM!
I carefully passed through your question and would explain that Amiodarone HCl has a very long half life (the time needed by our body to clear half of the circulating drug in blood), which means that after stopping taking it, it remains in your blood in therapeutic levels for a very long time (the drug is bounded to plasma proteins).
So, more concretely I would explain that its half life is evaluated to be 27-207 days and it is proven that its effects remain in your blood up to 50 days after discontinuation of this drug.
So for the moment and for the next days, even if you do not take any other anti-arrhythmic drugs, you are still under the prolonged effects of Amiodarone HCl.
I would not recommend starting a new anti-arrhythmic drug during this period because of possible adverse effects related to possible interaction between the new drug and the Amiodarone which is still circulating in your body.
Hope you will find this answer helpful!
Feel free to ask any other questions whenever you need!
Kind regards,
Dr. Iliri
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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