[Restoration and maintenance of sinus rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation. New pharmacological approaches].

Atrial fibrillation is the most frequent cardiac arrthythmia in adults and its prevalence is increasing with age. Therefore, the importance of an adequate therapy is an increasing challenge, in particular considering the demographic shift towards an aging population. Current antiarrhythmic drug therapies for the conversion of atrial fibrillation and the maintenance of sinus rhythm are limited by efficacy, tolerance and safety of the currently available agents. Therefore, a primary goal is to develop effective antiarrhythmic drugs with as little as possible side effects. The following review describes new promising drug therapy approaches to atrial fibrillation that may overcome some of the limitations of current therapies.