Flecainide: A New Class Ic Antidysrhythmic

Flecainide acetate is a new orally active antidysrhythmic agent classified in the Ic category. Flecainide is effective in suppressing 88 to 100 percent of abnormal cardiac rhythms in the form of complex ventricular dysrhythmias, including couplets, ventricular tachycardia, reentrant junctional tachycardia, and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. Flecainide appears to have a greater effect on conduction than on repolarization and only minimal effects on hemodynamic parameters. Flecainide is rapidly and completely absorbed after oral administration and has a 13-hour elimination half-life, allowing for twice-daily dosing regimens. Flecainide is generally well tolerated, with dizziness, blurred vision, nausea, and headache the most common side effects. Flecainide has been shown to be superior to quinidine and disopyramide in suppressing ventricular ectopic activity and may be considered a first-line oral agent for this indication. It is believe that flecainide has enough therapeutic advantages to be added to drug formularies.