Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Ranolazine stops atrial flutter and fibrillation in dogs
By Bhimani, Ashish A et al.·Published in Heart rhythm·2014·Case Western Reserve University/University Hospitals Case Medical Center, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Ranolazine terminates atrial flutter and fibrillation in a canine model.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with a heart condition called sterile pericarditis were given an intravenous medication called ranolazine to see if it could stop abnormal heart rhythms known as atrial flutter (AFL) and atrial fibrillation (AF). The treatment successfully stopped 7 out of 9 cases of AFL and 3 out of 4 cases of AF. Ranolazine worked by changing how the heart's electrical signals were conducted, which helped restore a normal rhythm. This suggests that ranolazine could be an effective option for treating certain heart rhythm problems in dogs.
People also search for: dog heart flutter treatment · atrial fibrillation in dogs · ranolazine for dog heart problems
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Ranolazine has been shown to have antiarrhythmic properties. OBJECTIVE: We tested the hypothesis that intravenous ranolazine would terminate induced atrial flutter (AFL) or atrial fibrillation (AF) in the canine sterile pericarditis model. METHODS: In 6 dogs with sterile pericarditis, we performed electrophysiological measurements of the atrial effective refractory period (AERP) and conduction time (CT) while pacing from the right atrial appendage, Bachmann bundle, and the posteroinferior left atrium at cycle lengths (CLs) of 400, 300, and 200 ms before and after the administration of ranolazine. In 13 induced episodes of AFL (n = 9) and AF (n = 4), ranolazine was administered intravenously as a 3.2 mg/kg bolus, followed by a maintenance infusion of 0.17 mg/(kg·min). Six episodes (4 AFL and 2 AF) were induced in the open-chest state to perform simultaneous, multisite (486 electrodes), epicardial mapping of the arrhythmia and its termination. RESULTS: Ranolazine terminated 7 of 9 AFL and 3 of 4 AF episodes. Ranolazine significantly prolonged the AFL CL by a mean of 43 ms (P < .001) and the AF CL by a mean of 34 ms (P < .01). The AERP was prolonged (P < .05 overall), and the atrial capture threshold increased minimally (P < .01 for all). Ranolazine prolonged CTs (P < .01 overall). During open-chest, multisite mapping, block in the region of slow conduction in the reentrant circuit terminated AFL and interruption of the regular driver terminated AF. CONCLUSION: Ranolazine terminated AFL/AF in our canine sterile pericarditis model by interrupting the regular driver. Ranolazine was found to significantly prolong the AERP, CT, and tachycardia CLs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25066042/