钙稳态失衡与心房颤动介导的心肌病的关系

心房颤动介导的心肌病（AMC）指阵发性或持续性心房颤动（AF）引起心脏扩大，导致心室收缩与舒张功能受损、左心室射血分数下降，最终引发心力衰竭（HF），患者恢复窦性心律或心室率得到严格控制后，心脏扩大与HF症状能够得到完全性或几乎完全性逆转。临床中AMC的发病率并不低，早期诊断、干预可以明显改善患者预后，但目前临床在排除其他病因后才能诊断AMC，缺乏特异性诊断指标，且对于AMC的病理过程尚不清楚。本文从钙稳态失衡入手，分别介绍了其在AF和HF中的作用，进而分析其与AMC的关系，以期为AMC的临床诊断和治疗提供方向。     

新发房颤为心衰住院者院内死亡率升高的独立预测指标

至少在60岁以上老年人,心衰（HF）伴发房颤（AF）风险将明显增加。然而,迄今关于HF住院患者伴发新发AF的确切预后意义尚结论不一。本文旨在就HF住院患者伴发新发AF对其院内近期死亡风险的可能影响进行了评价。     

心房颤动对心力衰竭患者预后的影响

目的探讨心房颤动（AF）对心力衰竭（HF）患者远期预后的影响。方法回顾性研究63例HF患者,根据HF是否并发AF的临床特点:分有AF组（A组）,无AF组（B组）,并随访（23±8）月,观察AF对HF远期不良事件发生及预后的影响。结果①左心房内径,A组大于B组[（49±8）mmvs（43±7）mm,P<0.05];左心室射血分数,A组低于B组[（33±5）%vs（42±6）%,P<0.05];②脑栓塞发生率,A组高于B组（26%vs6%,P<0.05）;③快速性心律失常,A组高于B组（77%vs47%,P<0.05）;④不良事件发生:A组因HF加重或脑栓塞发生的再住院率高于B组（P<0.01）;⑤病死率:A组多于B组（32%vs13%,P<0.01）。结论HF基础上发生AF,预示着对原发性心脏疾病的远期不良事件发生增多,预后影响较大。     

永久房颤对慢性心衰者运动耐量的影响

迄今，关于永久性房颤（AF）对慢性心衰（HF）患者运动试验中运动耐量及心肺功能的可能性影响均未清楚，本文就此进行了分析。     

缺血性心力衰竭患者心房颤动与血清尿酸水平的关联性

目的 探讨缺血性心力衰竭（HF）患者心房颤动（AF）与血清尿酸（SUA）水平的关联性。方法 连续性收集于2012年10月~2014年10月就诊于佛山市中医院的缺血性HF患者363例,根据心电图或者病史记录将患者分为AF组和无AF组,比较两组间基线特征及SUA与AF的相关性。结果 363例患者中,共有78例患者患有AF,285例患者为正常窦性心律。与无AF患者相比,AF患者的SUA水平显著提高〔(64±21) vs.(57±19) mg/L,P<0.01〕。同时,AF组患者的年龄更大〔(71±8) vs.(66±11)岁,P<0.01〕。此外,AF患者的超声心动图指标,包括左室射血分数、左房内径、左心室舒张末期内径以及左心室舒张末期容积,同样显著高于窦性心律正常的患者。多因素回归分析显示,校正相关影响因素后,SUA水平仍为AF的独立相关因素(OR=1.27,95% CI,1.06-1.52,P≤0.01)。结论 SUA水平是缺血性HF患者AF的独立相关因素。     

心房纤颤患者急性脑梗死的临床与弥散加权成像特点分析

目的：心房纤颤（ Atrial fibrillation, AF）是急性脑梗死（ Acute ischemic stroke, AIS）的一种重要危险因素。我们比较AF患者与非AF患者AIS的临床与影像学特点。方法：本研究把入选的196名AIS患者根据是否存在AF分为AF组与非AF组,分别比较两组患者的基本信息、危险因素、临床特点和影像学特点。结果：与非AF组相比, AF组患者年龄较大,女性患者所占比例偏高。 AF组入院时美国国立卫生院神经功能缺损（ NIHSS ）评分与出院时改良 Rankin 量表（ mRS）评分皆高于对照组。多发性梗死灶、皮层梗死及出血转化在AF患者中更多见。结论：临床与弥散加权成像特点有助于对AF患者发生的AIS早期明确病理学机制提供线索与帮助。     

缝隙改造剂Rotigaptide（ZP123）对心房传导和心房颤动易损性的影响

慢性二尖瓣返流（MR）和心力衰竭（HF）狗模型的心脏传导发生改变，动物对心房颤动（AF）的易损性提高。Rotigaptide（ZP123）增强缝隙连接的传导，改善细胞-细胞间的偶联。作者观察Rotigaptide对MR及HF狗模型的心房传导和AF易损性的影响。     

CA125与心力衰竭的研究进展

肿瘤标志物通常用于筛查、诊断和区分恶性疾病,但是特定的肿瘤标志物可能用于指示心力衰竭（HF）患者。在所有肿瘤标志物中,糖抗原125（CA125）是HF潜在的生化标志物,其与炎症因子、脑钠尿肽（BNP）的水平均呈显著相关。已有研究证明,CA125与HF患者的临床、血流动力学和超声心动图参数相关,能够提示HF的严重程度和预后,并且有助于评价治疗干预措施的效果。本文综述了近年来关于CA125和HF衰患者的研究进展。     

心房颤动的远程监测进展

心房颤动（AF）是影响人类健康甚至危及生命的主要心律失常之一，且发病率逐年升高，早期诊断成为治疗AF的当务之急。心脏远程监测技术的运用提高了AF早期诊断率，对AF的诊断、治疗、预后和随访都发挥了重要作用。该文主要介绍心脏远程监测的各种方法以及在AF病人中的临床应用现状和进展。     

胰岛素抵抗与心房颤动

心房颤动（AF）是目前临床上最常见的心律失常类型。胰岛素抵抗（IR）可通过引起心肌组织氧化应激及炎症反应等多种途径导致心房重构，从而参与AF的发生发展过程。三酰甘油葡萄糖（TyG）指数作为评估IR的工具，也可以预测AF的发病风险及预后。本文主要综述了IR导致AF的机制、IR评估工具对AF的预测价值及治疗IR对AF的影响，以期为AF的早期诊断、及时治疗提供参考依据。     

Antidiabetic agents and risk of atrial fibrillation/flutter: A comparative critical analysis with a focus on differences between SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists

Atrial fibrillation/flutter (AF/AFL) is a common cardiac arrhythmia in patients with diabetes and is associated with an increased risk of morbidity, including ischaemic stroke and heart failure, and mortality. Different classes of glucose-lowering agents have shown distinct effects on the risk of stroke and heart failure. Their effects on cardiac arrhythmias such as AF/AFL have not been carefully investigated yet and even less their possible relationship with classical complications such as stroke and heart failure. The present comprehensive review aims at analysing the effects of each pharmacological class on the risk of new-onset AF/AFL episodes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and in patients with heart failure (with or without diabetes). Relevant findings were collected both in post-hoc analyses of placebo-controlled trials and in real-life retrospective observational studies, which both led to the publication of several meta-analyses. Of note, no randomised controlled trials evaluated the effects on AF/AFL as a pre-specified endpoint and none included head-to-head active drug comparisons, so that caution is required in the conclusion. Overall, sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors, besides their remarkable effects on heart failure issues, were associated with the most pronounced and consistent reduction in incident AF/AFL, an effect surprisingly not accompanied by a significant reduction in stroke. In contrast, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, which have proven their ability to reduce stroke, apparently failed to demonstrate a significant reduction in new-onset AF/AFL in most reports. A better understanding of both reasons for these discrepancies and underlying mechanisms supporting the drug antiarrhythmic effect requires further careful dedicated studies.     

Atrial fibrillation in heart failure: Current treatment of patients with remodeled atria

Atrial fibrillation (AF) and chronic heart failure (CHF) can be caused by each other, and therefore constitute a vicious circle. The prevalence of both conditions is about 1% in industrialized countries and increases with age. Although mortality is increased in heart failure, the additional prognostic relevance of AF in these patients is less clear. AF in patients with CHF can worsen heart failure symptoms, cause complications (eg, stroke), and is difficult to treat. Thus, prevention of AF entirely is an important goal. This review summarizes recent data concerning prognostic relevance, treatment, and means of primary and secondary prevention of AF in patients with CHF.     

Antiarrhythmic therapy of atrial fibrillation: are we treating too late?

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with increased risk for stroke, heart failure and mortality. The causality between worse prognosis and AF is not clear at this time and AF may just be expression of underlying heart disease that by itself is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. AF is characterized by progression from rare paroxysmal episodes to permanent AF. It has been well recognized that maintenance of sinus rhythm with either antiarrhythmic drugs or catheter ablation is easier to achieve if treatment is established early on. In addition to the established indication of symptomatic improvement, the focus of AF management is shifting to earlier intervention to prevent cardiovascular complications. This concept is currently under investigation in the ongoing EAST trial. Early treatment initiation is desirable from a pathophysiologic perspective. This includes consequent prevention and treatment of AF risk factors, efforts for early diagnosis, and stroke prevention according to the CHA2DS2-VASc score. As long as no data support prognostic advantages with “aggressive” rhythm control therapy it remains reserved for symptomatic patients, since both, medication and catheter ablation, convey a significant risk for complications.     

Atrial fibrillation and cardioembolic stroke

The most disabling consequence of atrial fibrillation (AF) is stroke. In the elderly, AF is the single most important cause of stroke. The risk of stroke is increased at least 6-fold in subjects with AF. Strokes in patients with AF are in general severe, associated with higher risk of fatality and prone to early and long-term recurrence. The cardiac origin of stroke can be strongly suspected by anamnesis, clinical examination and findings on neuroimaging. Paroxysmal AF is an important cause of brain embolism, that is often difficult to document. Risk factors for stroke in AF include: previous embolism (including previous transient ischaemic attack (TIA), or ischaemic stroke), age >65 years, structural cardiac disease, rheumatic or other significant valvular heart disease, valvular artificial prosthesis, hypertension, heart failure and significant left ventricular systolic dysfunction, diabetes and coronary disease. All AF patients with TIA or stroke have a formal indication for long-term anticoagulation. Only patients without risk factors or with contraindications to warfarin should be put on aspirin. Treating 1 000 patients with AF for 1 year with oral anticoagulants rather than aspirin would prevent 23 ischaemic strokes while causing 9 major bleedings. Despite its enormous preventive potential, oral anticoagulants are underused in AF, because treating physicians often have lack of knowledge about trials and guidelines, underestimate the benefits and overestimate the risks associated with continuous oral anticoagulation. The introduction of anticoagulants that do not need frequent control tests, such as ximelagatran, will increase the proportion of AF patients with risk factors for stroke who are anticoagulated. There is no evidence to support routine immediate anticoagulation in acute ischeamic stroke associated with AF.     

Optimizing prognosis in atrial fibrillation: A call to action in Portugal

Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common arrhythmia in the adult population worldwide, represents a significant burden in terms of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity and has repercussions on health economics. Oral anticoagulation (OAC) is key to stroke prevention in AF and, in recent years, results from landmark clinical trials of non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (NOAC) have triggered a paradigm shift in thrombocardiology. Despite these advances, there is still a significant residual vascular risk associated with silent AF, bleeding, premature sudden death and heart failure.The authors review AF epidemiologic data, the importance of new tools for early AF detection, the current role of catheter ablation for rhythm control in AF, the state-of-the-art in periprocedural OAC, the optimal management of major bleeding, the causes of residual premature death and future strategies for improvements in AF prognosis.     

老年慢性阻塞性肺疾病患者并发心房颤动的危险因素及其列线图模型构建

背景近年随着我国老龄化加重,慢性阻塞性肺疾病(COPD)合并心房颤动(AF)患者数量不断增加,继而带来更加沉重的医疗负担。因此,早期识别伴有AF高风险的老年COPD患者并积极干预具有重要意义。目的探讨老年COPD患者并发AF的危险因素,并构建列线图模型,以期能早期识别伴有AF高风险的老年COPD患者。方法选取2019年1月至2021年5月在扬州大学附属医院住院的老年COPD患者254例,根据患者是否并发AF分为AF组(n=39)和非AF组(n=215)。比较两组患者临床资料,老年COPD患者并发AF的影响因素分析采用多因素Logistic回归分析,采用R语言软件构建老年COPD患者并发AF的列线图模型;绘制受试者工作特征(ROC)曲线以评估该列线图模型对老年COPD患者并发AF的区分度,采用Hosmer-Lemeshow拟合优度检验验证该列线图模型对老年COPD患者并发AF的校准度。结果 AF组患者吸烟率、饮酒率及心力衰竭、糖尿病、急性呼吸衰竭、肺部感染、脑卒中、急性心肌梗死发生率高于非AF组(P <0.05)。多因素Logistic回归分析结果显示,心力衰竭、糖尿病、急性呼吸衰竭、肺部感染、脑卒中及急性心肌梗死是老年COPD并发AF的危险因素(P <0.05)。基于上述危险因素构建老年COPD患者并发AF的列线图模型。ROC曲线分析结果显示,该列线图模型预测老年COPD患者并发AF的曲线下面积(AUC)为0.809[95%CI(0.752,0.865)]。Hosmer-Lemeshow拟合优度检验结果显示,预测值与实际值比较,差异无统计学意义(P> 0.05)。结论心力衰竭、糖尿病、急性呼吸衰竭、肺部感染、脑卒中及急性心肌梗死是老年COPD患者并发AF的危险因素,而基于上述危险因素构建的列线图模型对老年COPD患者并发AF的区分度及校准度良好。     

A review of the epidemiology of atrial fibrillation in sub‐Saharan Africa

This systematic review summarizes the data on the prevalence, risk factors, complications, and management of atrial fibrillation (AF) in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). Bibliographic databases were searched from inception to 31 May 2019, to identify all published studies providing data on AF in populations living in SSA. A total of 72 studies were included. The community‐based prevalence of AF was 4.3% and 0.7% in individuals aged ≥40 years and aged ≥70 years, respectively. The prevalence of AF ranged between 6.7% and 34.8% in patients with ischemic stroke, between 9.5% and 46.8% in those with rheumatic heart disease (RHD), between 5% and 31.5% in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. The main risk factors for AF were hypertension, affecting at least one‐third of patients with AF, and valvular heart disease (12.3%‐44.4%) and cardiomyopathy (~20%). Complications of AF included heart failure in about two thirds and stroke in 10% to 15% of cases. The use of anticoagulation for stroke prevention was suboptimal. Rate control was the most frequent therapeutic strategy, used in approximately 65% to 95% of AF patients, with approximately 80% of them achieving rate control. The management of AF was associated with exorbitant cost. In conclusion, AF seems to have a higher prevalence in the general population than previously thought and is mostly associated with hypertension, cardiomyopathy, and RHD in SSA. It is associated with a high incidence of heart failure and stroke. The management of AF is suboptimal in SSA, especially with a low uptake of oral anticoagulation.     

Predictors of stroke in high-risk patients after acute myocardial infarction: insights from the VALIANT Trial.

AIMS: We sought to determine risk models for predicting early and late stroke in a large cohort of high-risk post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: We prospectively analysed data from 14 703 patients in the VALIANT trial with acute MI complicated by heart failure, left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction, or both. Patients were randomized 0.5-10 days after acute MI to valsartan, captopril, or their combination. We evaluated risk factors for early (<45 days) and late (>45 days) stroke by using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analyses with stepwise variable selection techniques applied to 92 pre-specified potential predictor variables. After randomization, 463 (3.2%) patients had fatal (n = 124) or non-fatal (n = 339) strokes, with 134 strokes occurring in the first 45 days. The strokes were classified as ischaemic (348), haemorrhagic (40), or of indeterminate cause (75). Estimated glomerular filtration rate and heart rate when in sinus rhythm were the most powerful predictors of early stroke (<45 days after MI), whereas diastolic blood pressure (DBP) >90 mmHg, prior stroke, and atrial fibrillation (AF) were the most powerful predictors of stroke overall. Ejection fraction and sex were not predictive of stroke in this cohort. CONCLUSION: Among high-risk patients presenting with MI but without initial neurological symptoms, the risk of stroke 6 weeks thereafter is 0.94% (95% CI 0.78-1.09). Of the most powerful baseline predictors of stroke, DBP and AF are amenable to therapeutic interventions and thus merit special attention in these patients.     

Is atrial fibrillation an independent marker of cardiovascular risk?

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most frequent cardiac arrhythmia and its prevalence rises with age. AF may cause stroke and heart failure but the relationship between AF and mortality is less clear. It is difficult to determine if cardiovascular events in patients with AF are attributable to the arrhythmia itself or if they are merely related to the comorbidities frequently associated with AF. Review of the literature suggests that lone AF (without structural heart disease), a rare clinical entity except in young patients, is not an independent risk factor for mortality. On the other hand, if illnesses usually associated with AF are present (hypertension, heart failure...), AF has a negative impact on outcome in terms of survival and morbidity. Current antiarrhythmic medications have not shown reduction in mortality of AF patients, but new agents and catheter ablation are promising paths to explore in order to decrease AF burden.     

Atrial Fibrillation Increases the Risk of Peripheral Arterial Disease With Relative Complications and Mortality: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Atrial fibrillation (AF), an increasing prevalent cardiac arrhythmia due to aging general population, has many common risk factors with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). However, it is unclear whether AF is associated with a risk of PAD. We investigated the prevalence of AF and PAD in the general population and the risk of PAD among the AF population.This longitudinal, nationwide, population-based cohort study was conducted using data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database recorded during 2000 to 2011. In total, 3814 and 15,364 patients were included in the AF and non-AF cohorts, respectively. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression models were used for examining the effects of AF on the risk of outcomes.The average follow-up periods of PAD were 4.96 ± 3.28 and 5.29 ± 3.35 years for the AF and non-AF cohorts, respectively. Overall, the risk of PAD showed a significantly higher risk in the AF cohort (adjusted HR=1.31, 95% CI=1.19–1.45) compared with the non-AF cohort. Similar results were observed for heart failure and stroke, where the AF cohort had a 1.83-fold and 2.53-fold higher risk of developing heart failure and stroke. The AF cohort also had a significant increased risk for mortality (adjusted HR=1.66, 95% CI=1.49–1.84).The present study indicated that the incidence of PAD, heart failure, stroke, and overall mortality is higher in patients with AF than in those without it.