Approximately 6-20% of patients with severe sepsis develop new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF). Although the risks of chronic AF are well documented, the relationship between new-onset AF in the setting of sepsis and prognosis has not previously been well studied, partly due to the complex nature of this group of patients. […]
Tag: atrial fibrillation
ARB not found to benefit AF
Whilst reducing blood pressure reduces the risk of heart failure and stroke this relationship has thus far not been demonstrated in patients with atrial fibrillation. This is despite the fact that recent mechanistic work and retrospective analyses have suggested that both ACE inhibitors and ARBs have specific properties that alter atrial mechanical and electrical remodelling […]
Apixaban shows promise
Warfarin has been the primary treatment to mitigate the increased risk of stroke associated with atrial fibrillation for more than 40 years. However, up to 30% of patients are not suitable candidates for or are unwilling to receive warfarin therapy despite having a high risk of stroke. A host of new oral agents are now […]
Angiotensin receptor blockers and atrial fibrillation
The recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after cardioversion may be partially related to a process known as remodeling – the electrical, mechanical and structural properties of the atrial tissue are altered in a progressive and irreversible manner resulting in a more favourable substrate for AF. From animal models, blockade of the rennin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) has […]
A new anti-arrhythmic for the treatment of AF
Dronedarone is a benzofuran derivative with an electropharmacological profile similar to amiodarone but with different effects on individual ion channels. In two previous randomised controlled trials dronedarone was shown to be more effective than placebo in maintaining sinus rhythm and controlling ventricular rate during recurrences of AF. […]
No role for intermittent amiodarone in AF
Although amiodarone maintains sinus rhythm in 45% to 70% of patients during 12 to 54 months follow-up, it is also associated with many serious non-cardiac side effects. To investigate if episodic treatment with amiodarone could still be effective in preventing atrial fibrillation (AF), but without causing significant side-effects, Ahmed et al. randomised 209 patients with […]
A return to rhythm? PVI proves superior in low EF CHF
Atrio-ventricular node ablation has been used to treat symptomatic atrial fibrillation with poor rate control although these studies have contained few subjects with low ejection fractions. Biventricular pacing has recently been shown to be superior to right ventricular pacing following atrio-ventricular node ablation. […]