A new agent for atrial fibrillation: electrophysiological properties of dronedarone.

Although originally synthesized as an antianginal compound, amiodarone has emerged as an effective antiarrhythmic for both supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias. Over the decades, the properties, the effectiveness, the merits as well as the shortcomings of the compound have been well established. The major limitations of this agent are mainly due to the systemic side effects seen with prolonged therapy. Many of the toxic effects observed are primarily caused by the high iodine content present in the amiodarone molecule. Dronedarone, the first noniodinated amiodarone congener, has been developed largely to obtain the antiarrhythmic efficacy in the control of atrial fibrillation without the known adverse side effects of dronedarone. In this part of the supplement, the focus is the electrophysiological effects of dronedarone with the characterization in normal cardiac cells, in animal models of disease, as well as in human studies.