Dofetilide drug

There are many other medicines that can cause serious medical problems if you take them together with dofetilide. Tell your doctor about all the prescription and over-the-counter medications you use. This includes vitamins, minerals, herbal products, and drugs prescribed by other doctors. Do not start using a new medication without telling your doctor. Keep a list with you of all the medicines you use and show this list to any doctor or other healthcare provider who treats you.

You may need to spend at least 3 days in a hospital setting when you first start taking dofetilide. This is so your heart rhythm and kidney function can be monitored in case the medication causes serious side effects.

Tell your doctor if you have an illness that involves diarrhea or vomiting lasting more than a few hours. Prolonged diarrhea or vomiting can lower your potassium levels, making it dangerous for you to use dofetilide.

To be sure this medication is helping your condition, your blood pressure will need to be checked on a regular basis. Your heart and kidney function will also need to be tested. Do not miss any scheduled visits to your doctor.

Dofetilide may be available only from a hospital or specialty pharmacy.

What is dofetilide:

Dofetilide is a heart rhythm medication, also called an antiarrhythmic.

Dofetilide is used to help keep the heart beating normally in people with certain heart rhythm disorders of the atrium (the upper chambers of the heart that allow blood to flow into the heart). Dofetilide is used in people with atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter.

Dofetilide may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.

Before tacking dofetilide:
You should not use this medication if you are allergic to dofetilide, or if you have certain conditions. Be sure your doctor knows if you have:

    * severe kidney disease; or
    * a history of "Long QT syndrome."
There are certain drugs that should not be used together with dofetilide. Tell your doctor knows if you take any of the following medications:

    * verapamil (Covera, Calan, Isoptin, Verelan);
    * cimetidine (Tagamet);
    * ketoconazole (Nizoral);
    * prochlorperazine (Compazine);
    * megestrol (Megace); or
    * trimethoprim (Proloprim, Trimpex, Bactrim, Cotrim, Septra).

Before using dofetilide, tell your doctor if you are allergic to any drugs, or if you have liver or kidney disease.

If you have any of these conditions, you may need a dose adjustment or special tests to safely take dofetilide. Your doctor will tell you if any of your medication doses need to be changed.

Side effects:

Call your doctor at once if you have a serious side effect such as:

    * fast or pounding heartbeat, chest pain, shortness of breath; or
    * feeling like you might pass out.

Less serious side effects may include:

    * headache or back pain;
    * dizziness;
    * nausea, diarrhea, stomach pain;
    * sleep problems (insomnia);
    * stuffy or runny nose, cough, sore throat; or
    * mild skin rash.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Tell your doctor about any unusual or bothersome side effect.

What other drugs will affect dofetilide:

Many drugs can interact with dofetilide. Below is just a partial list. Tell your doctor if you are using:

    * a diuretic (water pill);
    * HIV/AIDS medicine such as nelfinavir (Viracept) or ritonavir (Norvir);
    * drugs that can affect heart rhythm, such as bepridil (Vascor), cisapride (Propulsid), droperidol (Inapsine);
    * narcotic medication such as levomethadyl (Orlaam), or methadone (Dolophine, Methadose);
    * antibiotics such as clarithromycin (Biaxin), erythromycin (E-Mycin, E.E.S., Erythrocin, Ery-Tab), levofloxacin (Levaquin), moxifloxacin (Avelox), or pentamidine (NebuPent, Pentam);
    * an antidepressant such as amitriptyline (Elavil, Etrafon), desipramine (Norpramin), fluoxetine (Prozac), fluvoxamine (Luvox), imipramine (Janimine, Tofranil), or paroxetine (Paxil);
    * medicines to treat psychiatric disorders, such as chlorpromazine (Thorazine), haloperidol (Haldol), mesoridazine (Serentil), or thioridazine (Mellaril); or
    * heart rhythm medicine such as amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone), disopyramide (Norpace), ibutilide (Corvert), procainamide (Procan, Pronestyl), quinidine (Quinidex, Quin-Release Quin-G), or sotalol (Betapace).

This list is not complete and there may be other drugs that can interact with dofetilide. Tell your doctor about all the prescription and over-the-counter medications you use. This includes vitamins, minerals, herbal products, and drugs prescribed by other doctors. Do not start using a new medication without telling your doctor. Keep a list with you of all the medicines you use and show this list to any doctor or other healthcare provider who treats you.