Flecainide: Electrophysiological properties, clinical indications, and practical aspects

Over the last 35 years, flecainide proved itself one of the most commonly used arrhythmic drugs, expanding its original indication for ventricular arrhythmias and results nowadays as the cornerstone of the rhythm control strategy in atrial fibrillation management of patients without structural heart disease. While the increased mortality associated with flecainide in the Cardiac Arrhythmia Suppression Trial (CAST) still casts his shadow over flecainide clinical profile, this compound has subsequently demonstrated safe and is now used successfully for a plethora of indications, including pharmacological cardioversion of atrial fibrillation, cathecolaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, supraventricular tachyarrhythmias and ventricular pre-excitation. Moreover, the recent marketing of a controlled release formulation, along with the intravenous and immediate release formulations, increased the armamentarium to the clinician's disposal while improving patients' compliance. In the present paper, we offer a comprehensive review of the anti-arrhythmic effects of flecainide, detailing its electrophysiological properties, its effects on the conduction system, its clinical use and the major side effects and contraindications in clinical practice.