ATRIAL FIBRILLATION
Supraventricular ectopy and recurrence of atrial fibrillation after electrical cardioversion
Department of Cardiology, Westmead Hospital, Cnr Hawkesbury and Darcy Rds, Westmead NSW 2145, Australia
Aims Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) is usually preceded by a premature atrial complex (PAC). We hypothesized that patients with a high frequency of atrial ectopic activity after restoration of sinus rhythm following direct current cardioversion would be more likely to experience recurrence of AF.
Methods and results Forty-four patients with documented persistent AF were studied. A 24 h Holter recording was performed from the day of external direct current cardioversion. Patients were reviewed at 1 week, 1 month, and 6 months. After 6 months, 59% of patients had experienced a recurrence of AF. Neither the frequency of PACs nor the frequency or duration of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) episodes predicted AF recurrence (P=0.60, 0.30, and 0.42, respectively). There was a trend towards maximum rate of SVT predicting recurrence of AF (P=0.08).
Conclusion Frequency of supraventricular ectopy or the number and length of SVT runs in the 24 h after restoration of sinus rhythm are not strong predictors of recurrence of AF after electrical cardioversion. A larger study would be required to detect a small predictive effect.
Key Words: Atrial fibrillation, Supraventricular ectopy, Cardioversion
* Corresponding author. Tel: +61 2 9845 6795; fax: +61 2 9845 8323. E-mail address: stuartpt{at}yahoo.com
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