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Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com with another quick tip for families in intensive care.

So currently we’re working with a client who is in intensive care with a tracheostomy and had COVID-19, had a lung failure, ARDS and also has had episodes of rapid AF with hypotension or low blood pressure that required inotropes or vasopressors to stabilize a low blood pressure. So the client is asking what is standard treatment or therapy for fast AF or fast atrial fibrillation.

So standard therapy really depends on the approach of a particular ICU. Sometimes it can include cardioversion, which is an electrical shock to the heart that gets the heart back into a normal rhythm which is called a normal sinus rhythm. And on top of that, patients with fast AF or fast atrial fibrillation often have or get Amiodarone as well. Amiodarone is an intravenous drug or tablet form for AF, sometimes for fast AF as well.

Digoxin can be given to slow down the rate and again, especially in intensive care, often fast AF causes severe hypotension, which is low blood pressure that needs to be treated often with inotropes or vasopressors and that requires a central line.

So that’s my quick tip for today, like the video, comment down below what questions you have and subscribe to my YouTube channel. If you have a loved one in intensive care and you need help, go and check out intensivecarehotline.com. Check out our case studies and call us on one of the numbers on the top of the website or just send us an email to [email protected].

This is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com and I’ll talk to you in a few days.