BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Diagnosis of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation is difficult but highly relevant in patients presenting with cerebral ischemia yet free from atrial fibrillation on admission. Early initiation and prolongation of continuous Holter monitoring may improve diagnostic yield compared with the standard of care including a 24-hour Holter recording. METHODS In the observational Find...

Objective To investigate the impact of simvastatin on blood lipid and the incidence of atrial fibrillation and ischemic-related events in patients with acute myocardial infarction accompanied by paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Methods One hundred and three patients with acute myocardial infarction and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation were selected as subjects, and were divided into a simvastatin ...

From the University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, Mich. This work was supported by Grants from the Michigan Heart Association and U.S. Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health HE 07406-05. Manuscript received October 3, 1969, accepted February 6, 1970. Address for reprints: Ernest W. Reynolds, Jr., MD, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, Mich. 48104. Combining...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE For patients having suffered ischemic stroke, the current diagnostic strategies often fail to detect atrial fibrillation as a potential cause of embolic events. The aim of the study was to identify paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in stroke patients. We hypothesized that patients with frequent atrial premature beats (APBs) recorded in 24-hour ECG will show more often atrial...

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Long-term efficacy following cryoballoon ablation of lone paroxysmal atrial fibrillation remains unknown. We describe long-term follow-up results of the single cryoballoon ablation procedure. METHODS Pulmonary vein isolation was performed in 103 patients (72 male; median age 52 years) with symptomatic lone paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. The end-point of this obser...

Holt-Oram syndrome (HOS) is a heart/hand syndrome clinically characterized by upper limb and cardiac malformations. Mutations in T-box transcription factor 5 (TBX5) underlie this syndrome. Here, we describe a large atypical HOS family in which affected patients have mild skeletal deformations and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, but few have congenital heart disease. Sequencing of TBX5 revealed ...

Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) is one of the most common heart arrhythmias. It is very difficult to detect unless an explicit Atrial Fibrillation episode occurs during the exploration. The present paper describes a number of low level parameters extracted from ECG traces where no Atrial Fibrillation process is present. The ability of this parameter set to characterize PAF patients is stud...

BACKGROUND Atrial fibrillation is a common heart rhythm disorder in older adults, and its prevalence has increased rapidly in recent years. The health issues associated with atrial fibrillation are not limited to physiological problems, as it also contributes to an increased risk of falls, which may be related to cardiovascular co-morbidities and medication use. The aim of this study was to det...

AIM The aim of this prospective study was to assess the presence of sinus rhythm and atrial transport function after surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation using cryoenergy, and to evaluate predictors of the success of the procedure. METHODS Between January 2005 and September 2006, 100 consecutive patients underwent left atrial cryoablation as a concomitant surgical procedure (46 patients w...

We present the case of a patient with a giant paraesophageal hernia associated with paroxysmal postprandial atrial fibrillation that was suppressed after surgery. The imaging investigations showed the intrathoracic displacement of a large part of the stomach, which pushed the left atrial wall causing atrial fibrillation. The laparoscopic surgical repair acted as sole treatment for this condition.