Is 80mg of sotalol a lot?
The usual dose of sotalol is between 80mg and 320mg a day. If you get irregular heartbeats several times a day, your doctor may prescribe a higher daily dose of up to 640mg. If you’re older or have kidney problems, your doctor may prescribe a lower dose. The usual dose of sotalol is between 80mg and 320mg a day.The recommended initial dose of sotalol is 80 mg, given twice daily if GFR is more than 60 mL/min, with the dose increased (generally allowing 2 to 3 days between dosing increments), up to 320 mg, given in 2 or 3 divided doses.With appropriate monitoring, especially at the time of initiation, sotalol can be a safe and effective medication to treat atrial arrhythmias. Unfortunately, owing to its proarrhythmia risk, sotalol initiation typically requires a 3-day hospitalization to monitor for significant QT lengthening or arrhythmias.The most effective dosage for preventing atrial fibrillation is 120 mg twice daily, depending on renal function. Hepatic impairment: No alteration in the clearance of sotalol is apparent in patients with hepatic impairment.Sotalol starts to work after about 4 hours, but it can take 2 to 3 days to work fully. Your first dose may make you feel dizzy, so take it at bedtime. After that, if you do not feel dizzy, you can take it in the morning.
What is the common side effect of sotalol?
Heart Rate Changes. Sotalol can make your heart beat slower than normal (bradycardia). Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of the following symptoms of bradycardia. Low Blood Pressure (Hypotension). Sotalol may cause low blood pressure. What if I take too much? If you take more than your prescribed dose, beta blockers can slow down your heart rate and make it difficult to breathe. It can also cause dizziness and trembling. The amount of beta blocker that can lead to an overdose varies from person to person.If a patient is bradycardic and hypotensive, the clinician should consider a beta-blocker or calcium channel blocker overdose. Other associated symptoms may include hypothermia, hypoglycemia, and seizures.If you take more than your prescribed dose, beta blockers can slow down your heart rate and make it difficult to breathe. It can also cause dizziness and trembling.Beta blockers can cause your heart to pump with less force, which can lead to bradycardia (slow heart rate). Your heart rate is usually considered too low when it beats less than 60 times per minute while you’re at rest. This side effect may not always be noticeable.
What is the peak time for sotalol?
Sotalol is an antiarrhythmic agent with combined class II and III properties. It is nearly completely absorbed after oral administration and undergoes essentially no first-pass hepatic metabolism. As a result, its absolute bioavailability is 90–100%. Peak plasma concentrations are reached 2–4 hours after an oral dose. Sotalol may worsen existing heart failure or cause fluid buildup in your body. For individuals with underlying heart disease or heart damage, sotalol can potentially lead to heart failure over time.Like all medicines, sotalol can cause side effects in some people, but many people have no side effects or only minor ones. Side effects often improve as your body gets used to the medicine.Your doctor may want you to gradually reduce the amount you are taking before stopping it completely. Some conditions may become worse when the medicine is stopped suddenly, which can be dangerous. Sotalol may cause heart failure in some patients.Discussion: The case illustrated that the potential risk of acute respiratory failure with use of sotalol is a real concern.
Does sotalol have to be taken exactly 12 hours apart?
Graded dose adjustment will help prevent the use of doses which are higher than necessary to control the arrhythmia. The recommended initial oral dosing schedule is 160 mg daily, given in two divided doses at approximately 12-hour intervals. Initial dose: 80 mg orally 2 times a day. Doses should be adjusted gradually every 3 days in order to attain steady state plasma concentrations and allow for monitoring of QT intervals. Maintenance dose: The initial dose may be increased, if needed, to 240 or 320 mg orally per day (120 to 160 mg orally 2 times a day).The usual doses for adults are: high blood pressure – the starting dose is usually 80mg, taken twice a day. If this dose is not working well enough to reduce your blood pressure, your doctor may increase it to a maximum of 160mg twice a day.
How long does sotalol stay in your body?
Stopping sotalol suddenly can make your condition worse. If you’re bothered by side effects, your doctor may be able to prescribe a different medicine for your heart problems. If you stop taking sotalol, it will take about 4 days for it to be completely out of your body. Continue to take sotalol even if you feel well. Do not stop taking sotalol without talking to your doctor. If you suddenly stop taking sotalol, you may experience serious heart problems such as angina (chest pain) or heart attack. Your doctor will probably want to decrease your dose gradually over 1 to 2 weeks.Sotalol (Betapace) can affect your heart rhythm, which can lead to serious and life-threatening problems like QT prolongation. To lower your risk, your provider might periodically check your heart and perform electrocardiograms (EKGs) to make sure your heart rhythm is normal.You should not use sotalol if you have asthma, low potassium, or a serious heart condition such as severe heart failure, long QT syndrome, slow heartbeats that have caused you to faint, sick sinus syndrome or AV block (unless you have a pacemaker).Sotalol is used to a treat life-threatening heart rhythm problem called ventricular arrhythmia. It is also used to treat heart rhythm problems called atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter. Sotalol is a beta-blocker. It works by affecting the response to nerve impulses in certain parts of the body, like the heart.Common side effects of sotalol include bradycardia, hypotension, fatigue, dizziness, depression, memory loss, impotence, cold limbs and, less commonly, severe hypotension, heart failure and bronchospasm.