Atrial fibrillation and new therapeutic strategies

Atrial fibrillation and new therapeutic strategies.

When new therapy challenges a critical disease the clinical spectrum is changed. But although the implantable cardioverter defibrillator is at the forefront of ventricular arrhythmia treatment, the number of implantations per million population remains limited (Fig. 1). The reasons for this poor take up must be one of costs set against the benefits, and indeed, the implantable cardioverter defi...

Dronedarone for atrial fibrillation: a new therapeutic agent

Atrial fibrillation is the most common of the serious cardiac rhythm disturbances and is responsible for substantial morbidity and mortality. Amiodarone is currently one of the most widely used and most effective antiarrhythmic agents for atrial fibrillation. But during chronic usage amiodarone can cause some serious extra cardiac adverse effects, including effects on the thyroid. Dronedarone i...

Dronedarone: A New Therapeutic Agent for Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial Fibrillation - Current Understanding and Management Strategies

169 Introduction Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is an arrhythmia characterized by irregular, disorganized and chaotic electrical activity of the atrium. The ECG classically is represented by low amplitude, variable and irregular base-line undulations corresponding to atrial rate in the range of 400-600/min. The ventricular rate is irregularly irregular (Fig. 1). The mean ventricular rate is usually b...

Atrial fibrillation: new horizons.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia seen in clinical practice. The understanding of the pathophysiology of AF has changed drastically during the last several decades. Recent observations have challenged the concept of the multiple circuit reentry model in favor of single focus or single circuit reentry models. Atrial electrical dysfunction provides a favorable substra...