Probing a paradoxical drug response for irregular heartbeat

                                                                               Mexiletine

https://go.drugbank.com/drugs/DB00379

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexiletine

Irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia, can be treated with various procedures or medication, but not all medications work for all patients. In fact, one arrhythmia medication can actually cause arrhythmia in people with a common genetic variant. This problem creates a need for personalized medicine to provide patients with the most beneficial outcome, according to new research from WashU

Jon Silva, a professor of biomedical engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, and Martina Marras, a doctoral student in his lab, made their discovery by screening four genetic variants to see if any of them altered the effectiveness of the drug mexiletine. The work is published in The Journal of Precision Medicine: Health and Disease.

Probing a paradoxical drug response for irregular heartbeat

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Treating Irregular Heartbeat With Digoxin May Come With Risks

In continuation of my update on  Digoxin 

The widely used heart drug digoxin is associated with increased risk of death and hospitalization among patients who have the heart rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation but no evidence of heart failure, a new study finds.

Atrial fibrillation is a common form of irregular heartbeat that has been linked to a rise in risk for stroke among older Americans. Digoxin has been used for more than a century to help treat irregular heartbeat, the authors of the new study said, and many guidelines recommend the drug for the treatment of atrial fibrillation.

However, the new findings "suggest that the use of digoxin should be re-evaluated for the treatment of atrial fibrillation in contemporary clinical practice," study co-author Dr. Anthony Steimle, chief of cardiology at Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center, said in a Kaiser news release.

One expert wasn't surprised by the findings.

Treating Irregular Heartbeat With Digoxin May Come With Risks