Non-pharmacologic treatment of atrial fibrillation

The authors provide an update on non-pharmacological treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). They emphasize that although antiarrhythmic drugs continue to be first-line therapy for the arrhythmia considered to be a cardiovascular epidemic, clinical research to develop non-pharmacological means of treatment has been unprecedentally intensified during the last decade. Electrical cardioversion is the most successful non-pharmacological method to restore sinus rhythm, also the efficacy and safety of AV node ablation for palliative ventricular rate-controll is established. "Hybrid" therapeutic procedures, involving combinations of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions have gained widespread use. Curative transcatheter ablation for arrhythmia prevention is to be considered in case of clinical suggestions that AF is initiated by a primary regular arrhythmia that is amenable to routine catheter ablation (secondary AF). Despite encouraging results, at this point in time, curative catheter ablation for primary AF may offer significant improvement or even cure only for a small subset of patients, mostly young individuals with normal heart, and paroxysmal AF with frequent, symptomatic episodes refractory to multiple antiarrhythmic drugs. These interventions are to be performed in the settings of a clinical research project in some institutions. Regarding pacemaker therapy in case of bradycardia indication, physiologic pacing (AAI or DDD) is associated with significantly lower incidence of atrial fibrillation than ventricular pacing. Large-scale randomized controlled trials are needed to assess the clinical value of specially designed implantable devices to prevent atrial fibrillation in patients with no conventional bradycardia indication. Also, technical optimization and proper clinical evaluation is needed for implantable atrioverters and implantable cardioverter defibrillators capable of atrial cardioversion therapy.     

Non-pharmacologic treatment of atrial fibrillation]

Curative non pharmacological treatment of AF includes MAZA anti arrhythmic surgery and ist different variants which are reserved to AF associated with mitral valve disease. Radiofrequency (RF) ablation of AF creating lesions mimicking the MAZE procedure is another curative treatment but its numerous complications lead to put it in stand-by. Focal AF radiofrequency ablation is the only curative method that has encouraging results. The development of the internal cardioversion led to the development of the implantable atrial defibrillator. In spite of the low energy used, the internal shocks are often painful and not well tolerated conducting to stop the use of these devices. Prophylactic atrial pacing among patients with interatrial conduction delay is well established by dual site pacing pioneers. After several attempts to restore sinus rhythm and the fail of drug therapy to reduce heart rate, the latest solution to prevent tachycardiomyopathy is the atrio-ventricular (AV) node modulation or ablation using RF energy.     

History of atrial fibrillation

The authors review the history of atrial fibrillation, the most frequent clinically observed cardiac arrhythmia. A French "clinicopathologist", Jean Baptist de Sénac (1693-1770), was the first who assumed a correlation between "rebellious palpitation" and a stenosis of the mitral valve. From an analysis of simultaneously recorded arterial and venous pressure curves, the Scottish Sir James Mackenzie (1853-1925) demonstrated that a praesystolic a wave can not be seen on the jugular phlebogram during "pulsus irregularis perpetuus". The first human ECG depicting atrial fibrillation was published by Willem Einthoven (1860-1927) in 1906. The proof of a direct connection between absolute arrhythmia and auricular fibrillation was established by two Viennese physicians, Rothberger and Winterberg. The major discoveries relating to the pathomechanism and the clinical features of atrial fibrillation in the 20th century stemmed from the scientific activities of Karel Frederik Wenckebach, Sir Thomas Lewis, Gordon Moe and Maurits Allessie.     

Mapping of atrial fibrillation

Cardiac mapping has been defined as: "a method by which cardiac signals are recorded from multiple sites of the heart and spatially depicted as a function of time in an integrated manner". It requires determination of the local activation time at each electrode and the creation of activation maps which provide a spatial model of the activation sequence. With respect to atrial fibrillation, mapping is useful to gain insight into the underlying mechanism of atrial fibrillation. In this review, we will discuss the mapping studies of experimental and clinical atrial fibrillation.     

Management of atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a condition of genuine clinical concern. This arrhythmia increases patient morbidity and mortality, most notably due to stroke, thromboembolism and heart failure. Consequentially, there is a strong impetus to acquire a greater understanding of its natural history and course in order to provide crucial evidence-based treatment and resource allocation in the future. The objective of this review article is to present a concise overview of the management of AF, with reference to the recent evidence-based National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) National Clinical Guidelines for the management of AF.     

大容量全肺灌洗并发阵发性心房纤颤的原因及处理

大容量全肺灌洗(whole-lung larage,WLL)可用于治疗肺泡蛋白沉积症、尘肺及误吸.WLL术中和术后偶有心房纤颤(以下简称房颤)的发生,为提高肺灌洗手术安全性,现将我们在WLL术中和术后并发房颤的6例病例分析如下.     

老年心房颤动患者抗凝治疗影响因素分析

目的调查老年心房颤动（房颤）患者抗凝治疗的主要影响因素，为老年房颤患者安全有效的抗凝治疗提供依据。方法筛查2002年1月-2007年10月在解放军总医院南楼住院且资料完整的房颤患者病历资料，共入选老年男性非瓣膜病性房颤患者99例，年龄65～98岁，根据病历记载的危险因素确定是否具备抗凝治疗指征，并结合并存疾病与当前治疗情况进行统计分析，以寻找影响抗凝治疗的主要因素。结果99例房颤患者中75例（75．8％）有抗凝治疗指征，该比值随增龄而增加，表明血栓栓塞的危险随增龄而增加，但实际接受抗凝治疗的患者仅12例（16．0％），且随增龄而降低。抗凝治疗强度基本达到指南要求，华法林平均剂量为2．25±0．57mg/d，末次监测INR值平均为2．11±0．43。本组中72例（72．7％）患者接受抗血小板治疗，主要用药为阿司匹林、氯吡格雷或二者联用。年龄≥75岁是血栓栓塞危险增加而抗凝治疗不足的分水岭。结论年龄是影响抗凝治疗的主要因素，而与房颤类型以及是否合并冠心病、高血压、糖尿病、卒中史等疾病无关。因此有必要制定更加具体的针对老年房颤患者的危险分层策略，摸索合适的治疗窗，以便于指导抗凝治疗，减少出血风险，从根本上预防血栓栓塞并发症。     

老年心房颤动患者抗凝治疗影响因素分析

目的 调查老年心房颤动(房颤)患者抗凝治疗的主要影响因素,为老年房颤患者安全有效的抗凝治疗提供依据.方法 筛查2002年1月～2007年10月在解放军总医院南楼住院且资料完整的房颤患者病历资料,共入选老年男性非瓣膜病性房颤患者99例,年龄65～98 岁,根据病历记载的危险因素确定是否具备抗凝治疗指征,并结合并存疾病与当前治疗情况进行统计分析,以寻找影响抗凝治疗的主要因素.结果 99例房颤患者中75例(75.8%)有抗凝治疗指征,该比值随增龄而增加,表明血栓栓塞的危险随增龄而增加,但实际接受抗凝治疗的患者仅12例(16.0%),且随增龄而降低.抗凝治疗强度基本达到指南要求,华法林平均剂量为2.25±0.57 mg/d,末次监测INR值平均为2.11±0.43.本组中72例(72.7%)患者接受抗血小板治疗,主要用药为阿司匹林、氯吡格雷或二者联用.年龄≥75岁是血栓栓塞危险增加而抗凝治疗不足的分水岭.结论 年龄是影响抗凝治疗的主要因素,而与房颤类型以及是否合并冠心病、高血压、糖尿病、卒中史等疾病无关.因此有必要制定更加具体的针对老年房颤患者的危险分层策略,摸索合适的治疗窗,以便于指导抗凝治疗,减少出血风险,从根本上预防血栓栓塞并发症.     

Update in atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia in adults. It is a significant public health problem in the United States where it affects 2.2 million Americans and almost 10% of the population older than 80 years. It should be emphasized that the prevalence of AF increases with advancing age and with worsening cardiac function. AF is an independent risk factor for death and greatly increases the risk for embolic stroke. In addition, this arrhythmia can be associated with hemodynamic instability, tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy, and systemic embolism. The management of atrial fibrillation today is directed toward the prevention of thromboembolism, control of the ventricular rate and conversion to sinus rhythm. It is the purpose of this review to summarize the most recent information about the clinical implications and treatment of this common rhythm disorder.     

Drug therapy of atrial fibrillation

The authors summarize the up-to-date knowledge relating to the pharmacological treatment of atrial fibrillation. They emphasize that drug treatment continues to be in the forefront of the therapy of the arrhythmia, which can now be considered to constitute a cardiovascular epidemic. In the era following the Atrial Fibrillation Follow-up Investigation of Rhythm Management (AF-FIRM) trial, the strategy of pharmacological treatment will certainly change: in place of "rhythm control", which in recent decades has been overforced in patients identical with the elderly, cardiac patients with an impaired left ventricular function who were enrolled into AFFIRM, there will be a more frequent use of ventricular "rate control". Naturally, this does not mean that, in certain patient groups, an effort should not be made to restore and maintain the sinus rhythm. In cases involving congestive heart failure and structural heart disease complicated by a depressed left ventricular systolic function, atrial fibrillation is currently treated with antiarrhythmic drugs possessing low proarrhythmic activity that prolong refractory period (Class 3), and with the even safer mortality-reducing beta-receptor blockers. The classical antiarrhythmic drugs (quinidine, procainamide, disopyramide) are being increasingly forced into the background, and the areas of indication of the novel Na(+)-channel blocker antiarrhythmics (propafenone, flecainide) have also narrowed: they are administered only in the event of atrial fibrillation in patients with a structurally intact heart or left ventricular hypertrophy. After a brief survey of the more important aspects of ventricular rate control, and of the drugs available, the research trends aimed at the progression of the pharmacological treatment of atrial fibrillation are outlined. The clinical introduction of procedures based on myocardial gene therapy is now a realistic therapeutic approach as concerns atrial fibrillation too.     

心房颤动诊治的新认识心房颤动心电图诊断中的有关问题

心房颤动(房颤)是临床最常见的持续性快速心律失常.房颤的临床危害不仅在于其发作时的临床症状(心悸、加重心功能不全)给患者生活质量带来影响;更严重的危害是增加血栓栓塞的危险,房颤患者脑卒中的发生率增加5倍,显著增加致残、致死率.心电图是临床房颤诊断最简单、实用的方法.     

Incidence of chronic atrial fibrillation in general practice and its treatment pattern

The object of this article was to estimate the incidence rate of chronic atrial fibrillation (AF) in a general practice setting, to identify factors predisposing to its occurrence, and to describe treatment patterns in the year following the diagnosis. The method used was a population-based cohort study using the General Practice Research Database (GPRD) in the UK. We identified patients aged 40-89 years with a first ever recorded diagnosis of AF. The diagnosis was validated through a questionnaire sent to the general practitioners. A nested case-control analysis was performed to assess risk factors for AF using 1,035 confirmed incident cases of chronic AF and a random sample of 5,000 controls from the original source population. The incidence rate of chronic AF was 1.7 per 1,000 person-years, and increased markedly with age. The age adjusted rate ratio among males was 1.4 (95% CI 1.2-1.6). The major risk factors were age, high BMI, excessive alcohol consumption, and prior cardiovascular comorbidity, in particular, valvular heart disease and heart failure. Digoxin was used in close to 70% of the patients, and close to 15% did not receive any antiarrhythmic treatment. Close to 40% did not receive either warfarin or aspirin in the 3 months period after the diagnosis. Among the potential candidates for anticoagulation only 22% of those aged 70 years or older were prescribed warfarin in comparison to 49% among patients aged 40-69 years. Chronic AF is a disease of the elderly, with women presenting a lower incidence rate than men specially in young age. Age, weight, excessive alcohol consumption, and cardiovascular morbidity were the main independent risk factors for AF. Less than half of patients with chronic AF and no contraindications for anticoagulation received warfarin within the first trimester after the diagnosis.