antiarrhythmic
- noun
- /ˌæntiəˈrɪðmɪk/
- Specialized
- Patients suffering from arrhythmias often rely on antiarrhythmics to maintain a stable heartbeat.
Examples
-
Brugada syndrome was probably undetected because the protocol did not include diagnostic testing with class I antiarrhythmics.
Academic text (2003) -
Drugs: beta blockers, calcium antagonists, antiarrhythmics, cytotoxic agents.
Academic text (2011) -
Although class I and class III antiarrhythmics may produce TdP in 1%-3% of patients, most of the drugs withdrawn because of TdP produced documented arrhythmias far less frequently.
Academic text (2016) -
The doctor prescribed an antiarrhythmic to help regulate her heart rhythm.
-
After the surgery, he was given antiarrhythmics to prevent any irregular heartbeats.
Synonyms
A strong medicine for serious irregular heartbeats when other treatments fail
A medicine that prevents or treats abnormal heart rhythms
A medicine that prevents or corrects an abnormal heart rhythm
A medicine that treats serious irregular heartbeats in the heart's lower chambers
Compounds
- Specialized
A medicine that prevents or corrects an abnormal heart rhythm
Surface Forms
Morphology
antiarrhythmic = antiarrhythmic (semi-transparent) = anti + a + rhythm + ic
The form is recognizably built from anti- plus rhythm-related material, but the medical term is specialized and the inserted negative prefix a- makes the structure less obvious to learners.
Etymology
Antiarrhythmic begins with anti- meaning 'against' and uses rhythm, meaning a 'regular beat' like in music or the heart. So an antiarrhythmic is a medicine that works 'against' an irregular heart 'beat', which is why it helps prevent or treat abnormal heart rhythms.