INTRODUCTION Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia and leads to a five-fold increased risk of stroke compared to persons with sinus rhythm. A soluble form of thrombomodulin (sTM) is a recognized marker of endothelial dysfunction and may contribute to the hypercoagulable state in AF. The aim of the study was to evaluate plasma concentration of sTM in persistent AF patients befor...

BACkgRouNd: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in patients undergoing cardiac valve surgery. AF in patients undergoing surgery can be categorized as preoperative AF (PPAF) or postsurgical AF (PSAF). oBjeCtIVe: To determine whether PSAF in patients undergoing valve surgery had an impact on mortality compared with patients in sinus rhythm or PPAF. MethodS: A total of 556 conse...

       We are presenting a case illustrating atrial fibrillation (AF) following the use of methylprednisolone in a patient with pelvic and femur fracture. A 48- year- old man with no significant past medical history, was admitted to the emergency department after injury in a car accident. He suffered a multiple bone fracture with chief complaints of pain and shortness of breath. He was transfer...

course. All ages are affected and the diagnosis must be considered if there is a modest degree of sinus bradyeardia (SB), even if asymptomatic, as SB is less benign than was heretofore thought. Inappropriate or relatively slow sinus rates (RSSR) under stressful conditions are equally as important as SB. Inadequacy of the sinoatrial node (SAN) may be manifested by one or more of the following: (...

course. All ages are affected and the diagnosis must be considered if there is a modest degree of sinus bradyeardia (SB), even if asymptomatic, as SB is less benign than was heretofore thought. Inappropriate or relatively slow sinus rates (RSSR) under stressful conditions are equally as important as SB. Inadequacy of the sinoatrial node (SAN) may be manifested by one or more of the following: (...

Atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia associated with increased risk for embolic stroke. Restoration of sinus rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation is a logical strategy to prevent the cardiovascular and thromboembolic complications of this dysrhythmia. The most common strategy for restoration of sinus rhythm is pharmacological antiarrhythmic therapy with or without electrical cardio...

OBJECTIVE To conduct a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials to estimate the effectiveness of antiarrhythmic drugs at promoting sinus rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation. DESIGN Articles were identified by using a comprehensive search of English language papers indexed in Medline from 1966 to August 2001. For the outcomes of sinus rhythm and death, a random effects model was u...

INTRODUCTION It is unclear whether early restoration of sinus rhythm in patients with persistent atrial arrhythmias after catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) facilitates reverse atrial remodeling and promotes long-term maintenance of sinus rhythm. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the time to restoration of sinus rhythm after a recurrence of an atrial...

Atrial fibrillation is a common clinical disease especially in the elderly and in patients with organic heart disease. Electrical cardioversion is the first choice therapeutic approach for patients in which sinus rhythm could improve the quality of life and where the maintenance of sinus rhythm is considered likely. There are different techniques to perform an electrical cardioversion, each wit...