INTRODUCTION Atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter account for one third of hospitalizations due to arrhythmias, determining great social and economic impacts. In Brazil, data on hospital care of these patients is scarce. OBJECTIVE To investigate the arrhythmia subtype of atrial fibrillation and flutter patients in the emergency setting and compare the clinical profile, thromboembolic risk a...

Selecting appropriate treatment strategies for patients with persistent atrial fibrillation has often proved to be a quandary. Foregoing any debate on anticoagulant therapy, the remaining issue is whether the ultimate goal should be achieving and maintaining sinus rhythm or simply controlling the ventricular response during ongoing atrial fibrillation. Since atrial fibrillation affects 5% of th...

1997; 47: 285–9. [17] Cameron A, Schwartz MJ, Kronmal RA et al. Prevalence and significance of atrial fibrillation in coronary artery disease (CASS Registry). Am J Cardiol 1988; 61: 714. [18] Page RL, Wilkinson WE, Clair WK, MaCarthy EA, Pritchett EC. Asymptomatic arrhythmias in patients with symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. Circulation 199...

I review the present understanding of thromboembolic complications and their prevention in patients with nonrheumatic atrial fibrillation. Chronic atrial fibrillation carries an annual 3-6% risk of thromboembolic complications, which is 5-7 times greater than that of controls with sinus rhythm. Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation is associated with a lower risk of thromboembolic complications than c...

OBJECTIVE To assess the natural history of the atrial rhythm of patients with paroxysmal atrial arrhythmias undergoing atrioventricular node ablation and permanent pacemaker implantation. DESIGN AND SETTING A retrospective cohort study of consecutive patients identified from the pacemaker database and electrophysiology records of a tertiary referral hospital. PATIENTS 62 consecutive patient...

The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of development of chronic nonrheumatic atrial fibrillation within one year of onset, thereby minimizing the risk of embolic complications and death. We retrospectively studied 137 patients with new-onset nonrheumatic atrial fibrillation. Chronic atrial fibrillation developed in 30 patients at the end of one year (chronic group). Atrial fibril...

only, full publication included1. Chan P, Vijan S, Morady F, Oral H. Cost-effectiveness of left atrial catheter ablation,antiarrhythmic therapy, and rate control therapy for paroxysmal and chronic atrialfibrillation. Circulation 2005;111(20):E318. 2. Reynolds MR, Ellis E, Danilov T, Zimetbaum P, Josephson ME, Cohen DJ. Costeffectiveness of radiofrequency catheter ablation vs. an...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Correlation between left atrial app...

BACKGROUND Atrial fibrillation is the most frequent cardiac rhythm disturbance, with prevalence increasing with age. This disease is a major risk factor for ischaemic stroke. The costs resulting from atrial fibrillation are really impressive. Pharmacological agents are the first line therapy for the management of atrial fibrillation. Antiarrhythmic drugs are used to terminate arrhythmias, as ac...

Radiofrequency catheter ablation of ectopic foci that trigger atrial fibrillation has been established as a curative method for patients with symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Although the majority of these foci are located in and around the pulmonary veins, other less common locations have been identified. Recognition that foci can lie outside the pulmonary veins is important for ens...