Little is known about temporal trends in atrial fibrillation (AF) incidence, prevalence, and outcomes. Using the Framingham Heart Study, Schnabel and colleagues assessed AF incidence, prevalence, and outcomes over 50 years (202,417 person-years). Researchers drew on a cohort of 9,511 participants enrolled between 1958 and 2007 in which 1,544 incident AF cases (47% women) were […]
Tag: atrial fibrillation
The SAFETY Clinical Trial: Intensive Outpatient Follow-up to Improve Outcomes after Hospitalization for Atrial Fibrillation
The prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) is increasing with a concurrent rise in the number of hospitalizations for AF. The standard versus atrial fibrillation-specific management strategy (SAFETY) trial sought to test a nurse-led intervention following hospital discharge for chronic, non-valvular AF on patient outcomes of unplanned admission or all-cause death. Participants in the intervention arm […]
Left atrial appendage closure in atrial fibrillation – is a comparison against warfarin still meaningful?
The majority of patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF) have an indication for anti-coagulation to reduce the risk of stroke. As the left atrial appendage (LAA) is thought to the be the predominant source of thromboembolic events in the setting of AF, LAA closure may provide an alternative to anti-coagulation for stroke risk reduction without […]
Warfarin for atrial fibrillation in patients with chronic kidney disease – does the thromboembolic benefit outweigh the bleeding risk?
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) predisposes to high risks for both thrombo-embolism and bleeding. As a result, understanding the risk-benefit profile for use of anticoagulation therapies among CKD patients with atrial fibrillation is important to optimize patient outcomes. However, clinical trials evaluating efficacy and safety of anti-coagulants for atrial fibrillation generally exclude CKD patients and observational […]
Weight reduction results in atrial fibrillation symptom improvement
Obesity is known risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the effect of weight reduction on AF symptom burden is unknown. In this study, 150 patients with symptomatic AF who were overweight or obese were randomized to a physician led weight loss program (intervention arm) or self-directed general lifestyle measures (control arm). All patients received […]
Apixaban shows safety in secondary analysis
The decision to anticoagulate a patient with atrial fibrillation involves a balance between the risks of thromboembolism against those of haemorrhage, with both risks imperfectly predicted by even the best stratification scoring systems. Although warfarin reduces the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation, its use remains limited by several limitations. Apixaban is a […]
Fish Oils Don’t Decrease Post-Op AF
Both clinical and experimental evidence have suggested an anti-arrhythmic effect of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3-PUFAs) in fish oil. However, the effect of n-3-PUFAs on atrial arrhythmias such as postoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) remain uncertain. The Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Prevention of Post-operative Atrial Fibrillation (OPERA) trial was designed to test whether perioperative n-3-PUFA […]
Catheter ablation for paroxysmal AF
Atrial fibrillation is the commonest cardiac arrhythmia. While a number of established drug therapies are often successful in achieving satisfactory control, more recently radiofrequency catheter ablation has emerged as an effective therapy for patients with paroxysmal AF. However, the place of catheter ablation remains unclear with limited data comparing ablation with antiarrhythmic drug therapy as […]
Flec-SL: short- vs. long-term flecainide after AF cardioversion
The goal of antiarrhythmic therapy following cardioversion for atrial fibrillation (AF) is to prevent further recurrences for as long as possible. However, it is known that the atrial action potential normalises after 2-4 weeks of sinus rhythm, suggesting that drugs may not be essential in the long-term. The goal of this study was to investigate […]
Atrial Fibrillation: Women at higher stroke risk
Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) have a risk of stroke that is five times greater than that of the general population. Moreover, it has previously been described that women with atrial fibrillation have a higher annual rate of stroke than men (3% vs. 1.6%). The reasons for this remain unclear, although previous studies have […]