Search results for " Atrial Fibrillation"

Atrial fibrillation: a geriatric perspective on the 2020 ESC guidelines

2021

Key Summary Points Aim To provide a geriatric perspective on the 2020 ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of atrial fibrillation developed in collaboration with the European Association of Cardio–Thoracic Surgery (EACTS). Findings While the large majority of AF patients in real life are older, frail and cognitively impaired, these are mostly excluded from clinical trials, and physicians’ attitudes often prevail over standardized algorithms. On the basis of existing evidence, we suggest that (1) opportunistic AF screening by pulse palpation or ECG rhythm strip is cost-effective, and (2) whereas advanced chronological age by itself is not a contraindication to AF treatment, a Comp…

Red blood cell distribution width: A marker of anisocytosis potentially associated with atrial fibrillation

2019

The incorporation of biomarkers in the actually used risk scores seem to be helpful for early identifying atrial fibrillation (AF) patients at higher risk. The aim of this critical review of the scientific literature is to investigate the potential clinical significance of red blood cell distribution width (RDW) in AF. A systematic electronic search was carried out to identify all articles describing an epidemiological association between RDW and AF in adult human populations. Data abstraction was conducted on a final number of 35 articles (13 cross-sectional, 12 prospective and 10 retrospective studies). The results of these epidemiological investigations were all virtually concordant to e…

The role of the renin-angiotensin system in atrial fibrillation and the therapeutic effects of ACE-Is and ARBS

2008

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common rhythm disturbance in medical practice and represents a very expensive health problem. AF can be managed with the prevention of thromboembolism and either a rate control of rhythm strategy. As both strategies have important limitations, probably a preventative strategy in patients at risk of developing arrhythmia can be a more attractive option. The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) seems to be involved in the genesis of arrhythmia by the following two mechanisms: 1. the induction of atrial fibrosis and structural remodelling by mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) expression and reduction of collagenase activity; 2. the induction of electrical re…

Pharmacological Therapy in Children with Atrial Fibrillation and Atrial Flutter

2008

Heart rhythm disorders in children are not different, on electrocardiographic trace, from heart rhythm disorders in adults with the exception of incidence which is different according to the age. Paticularly, atrial flutter (FlA) and fibrillation (FA) are very uncommon arrhythmias in the general pediatric population. Generally atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter, in our experience, is a temporary heart rhythm disturbance connected to specifical and resovable reasons with the exception of Fontains surgical correction of congenital heart diseases or cardiopathies with dilatation of both atria. Presenting symptoms, symptom history (e.g., frequency, duration, and severity), risk assessment, …

Functional Data Analysis for ECG Recordings of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation Patients Before and After Pulmonary Vein Isolation

2018

Pulmonary vein isolation is the cornestone of current ablation techniques for patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in order avoid recurrences of the arrhythmia and maintain sinus rhythm. This study aimed to analyse the existence of significant variations in surface ECG after pulmonary vein isolation by means of functional data analysis. 12 consecutive unselected patients suffering from paroxysmal atrial fibrillation who underwent catheter ablation were included in the study. Each patient was monitored in sinus rhythm before and after catheter ablation. P-waves of bipolar lead II were delineated. Functional data were fitted from these segments and the first and second derivatives eva…

Evaluating the effectiveness and risks of oral anticoagulant treatments in multimorbid frail older subjects with atrial fibrillation using the multid…

2018

Background: Previous studies suggested that a different risk of mortality may influence the oral anticoagulant prescription in older patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Recently, the Multidimensional Prognostic Index (MPI) demonstrated a high grade of accuracy, calibration and feasibility to predict mortality in hospitalized and community-dwelling older people. Prognostic information, as calculated by the MPI, however, is not included in the decision algorithm of treatments in older patients with AF Purpose: The aim of this international multicenter prospective observational study was to evaluate whether a different prognostic profile, as determined by the MPI, is associated with differ…

Automatic Holter electrocardiogram analysis in ischaemic stroke patients to detect paroxysmal atrial fibrillation : ready to replace physicians?

2020

Background and purpose The detection of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (pAF) in patients presenting with ischaemic stroke shifts secondary stroke prevention to oral anticoagulation. In order to deal with the time- and resource-consuming manual analysis of prolonged electrocardiogram (ECG)-monitoring data, we investigated the effectiveness of pAF detection with an automated algorithm (AA) in comparison to a manual analysis with software support within the IDEAS study [study analysis (SA)]. Methods We used the dataset of the prospective IDEAS cohort of patients with acute ischaemic stroke/transient ischaemic attack presenting in sinus rhythm undergoing prolonged 72-h Holter ECG with central a…

Is there a role for verapamil beyond rate control in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation?

2021

The percutaneous treatment of Patent Foramen Ovale, an effective and safe therapeutic choice

2013

Introduction: The aim of our study is to evaluate the feasibility, safety and efficacy of the percutaneous closure of PFO (abnormal communication between the right and left atrium). Methods: Between July 2009 and October 2012 percutaneous closure was performed in 37 patients. The presence of PFO was diagnosed through the use of ultrasound techniques: transcranial doppler with contrast (cTCD), transthoracic echocardiography(TTE) and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). Follow-up was composed consisted of a Holter ECG 7 days after the closure with a 24 hour heart rhythm monitoring, to evaluate eventual arrhythmia cases and programmed controls which included a TTE at 1-3 months, TTE+ cTCD a…

Hypertension and atrial fibrillation: diagnostic approach, prevention and treatment. Position paper of the Working Group 'Hypertension Arrhythmias an…

2012

Hypertension is the most common cardiovascular disorder and atrial fibrillation is the most common clinically significant arrhythmia. Both these conditions frequently coexist and their prevalence increases rapidly with aging. There are different risk factors and clinical conditions predisposing to the development of atrial fibrillation, but due its high prevalence, hypertension is still the main risk factor for the development of atrial fibrillation. Several pathophysiologic mechanisms (such as structural changes, neurohormonal activation, fibrosis, atherosclerosis, etc.) have been advocated to explain the onset of atrial fibrillation. The presence of atrial fibrillation per se increases th…