Title:Are we at the Goal Line with the Novel Oral Anticoagulants and Have We Reached the End of the Line for Dronedarone and Vernakalant - or is There More to Come?
VOLUME: 10 ISSUE: 4
Author(s):James A. Reiffel
Affiliation:ECG Laboratory, 6th floor, Milstein Pavilion, The New York Presbyterian Hospital, 177 Fort Washington Ave., New York, NY 10032, USA.
Keywords:Atrial fibrillation, anticoagulation, antiarrhythmic drugs, dronedarone, NOACs, ranolazine, vernakalant.
Abstract:The authors of this Mini-Hot-Topic collection of review manuscripts have provided an outstanding review of
the development and current status of several of our most recently developed agents in the fight against atrial fibrillation
(AF). They have also given the readers a glimpse into the difficulty of drug development and the contrasts that can exist
with the same product in different geographies. For their efforts they have my deepest appreciation. It is my hope that
these articles will assist those of you who are clinicians in your care of patients and those of you who are investigators in
your appreciation of the drug development process and its hurdles. More specifically, this Mini-Hot-Topic symposium has
reviewed for you: (1) the evidence supporting the new novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) as first-line therapy for prevention
of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with “nonvalvular” atrial fibrillation (NVAF); (2) the winding path taken
by dronedarone in reaching its current place in our antiarrhythmic armamentarium – in which it still has a role; and (3) the
contrasting decisions made with respect to the marketing of vernakalant in Europe versus the United States. Now, in this
last manuscript of the collection, I will echo for emphasis some of their highlights and I will also bring you further up to
date with respect to a possible future role for dronedarone, as hinted at by the HARMONY trial.
