Catheter ablation as first-line in atrial fibrillation: is rhythm control finally better than rate control?

Is rhythm control better than rate control for new-onset atrial fibrillation in the emergency department?

In patients with new-onset atrial fibrillation and symptom onset within 48 hours, rhythm control is preferred over rate control if the patient is younger than 65 years. For patients with congestive heart failure, valvular heart disease, hypertension, or permanent atrial fibrillation, rate control remains the favored strategy.

Rhythm-control strategies were not better than rate-control strategies in atrial fibrillation.

Rate versus rhythm control in atrial fibrillation.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether rate control is a viable initial treatment approach in persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) through the evaluation of recently completed trials comparing rate and rhythm control. DATA SOURCES Biomedical literature was obtained through MEDLINE (1966-December 2003) and the Iowa database. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION Articles identified from the biomedical ...

Is rate control or rhythm control preferable in patients with atrial fibrillation? Rate control is preferable to rhythm control in the majority of patients with atrial fibrillation.

An Argument for Maintenance of Sinus Rhythm in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Print ISSN: 0009-7322. Online ISSN: 1524-4539 Copyright © 2005 American Heart Association, Inc. All rights reserved. is published by the American Heart Association, 7272 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75231 Circulation doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.104.537175 2005;111:3150-3156 Circulation. http://circ.ahajournals.org...

Rate control was more cost-effective than rhythm control in persistent atrial fibrillation.

Intervention: rate control (n = 256) or rhythm control (n = 266). Rate control included use of digitalis, a non-dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker, and a b blocker, alone or in combination. Target resting heart rate was ,100 beats/minute. Patients in the rhythm control group received serial electrical cardioversion and serial antiarrhythmic drugs using sotalol, 160– 320 mg/day, as the firs...