Hopefully, I am an exception regarding Otezla. I was doing well on Cimzia, but during the pandemic my rheumatologist switched me to Otezla, believing it to be less immunosuppressive. I was on it for 7 months. My psoriasis came back; I had a painful flare of enthesitis in my left thigh and had to use a cane, and I developed tachycardia (rapid heartbeat) with the end result being a trip to the ER and a diagnosis of Afib (atrial fibrillation).
I didn’t experience any of the usual side effects listed for Otezla, and Afib wasn’t even on the list. Fortunately, in the National Psoriasis Foundation’s support community there was a member who had experienced the same thing. She had found the product monograph for Otezla (apremilast) and under “warnings and precautions” tachyarrhythmia, including atrial fibrillation was listed. On eHEALTHME, a phase IV clinical study of FDA data reported the same findings.
Apparently, this side effect isn’t common, and as with that other member, my doctors weren’t aware of it. I was prescribed a medication for the Afib, to be taken long-term.
Besides it causing constant palpitations, I was reluctant to take it since I suspected the Otezla was the cause, so I discontinued both medications and have had no further issues. My rheumatologist let me go back to the Cimzia.