BACKGROUND The epidemiology of atrial fibrillation (AF) without comorbidities, known as 'lone AF', is uncertain. Although it has been considered a benign condition, we hypothesized that it confers a worse prognosis compared with a matched sample without AF. METHODS We described the proportion of AF without comorbidities (clinical, subclinical cardiovascular disease and triggers) among the ent...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The paradox of the reported low prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in blacks compared with whites despite higher stroke rates in the former could be related to limitations in the current methods used to diagnose AF in population-based studies. Hence, this study aimed to use the ethnic distribution of ECG predictors of AF as measures of AF propensity in different ethni...

BACKGROUND It is unclear whether stroke patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) are prone to adverse outcomes following treatment with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator, and whether the burden of AF affects these outcomes. OBJECTIVE To investigate the contribution of AF (whether it be a first-detected episode of AF or chronic AF) to stroke outcomes in patients treated with i...

BACKGROUND Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs) are essential for the cardiac extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling. We investigated differences in serum levels of these markers between patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and sinus rhythm (SR). METHODS Serum levels of MMP-2, MMP-3, MMP-9 and TIMP-1 were measured in 86 patients: 27 on SR without any AF histor...

AIMS Recent studies have suggested an emerging link between sleep apnoea and atrial fibrillation (AF). These studies included patients with reduced left ventricular (LV) function which may cause both AF and sleep disordered breathing (SDB). We examined the prevalence of SDB in a population of patients with AF and normal LV function. METHODS AND RESULTS Ninety patients with paroxysmal or persi...

AF is a major concern in general population worldwide. Every year, 3 million suffer from AF related stroke, 1.5 million die from AF related stroke within a year, and 1 million are severely disabled by AF related stroke. Only 1% of AF patients underwent a treatment such as ablation or AF surgery. 99% remain as they are or prophylactic anticoagulation medication only. The reason why is due to the...

atrial fibrillation (af) is the most common complication of coronary artery bypass graft surgery (cabg). the reported incidence of af after cabg varies from 20% to 40%. postoperative af (poaf) is associated with increased incidence of hemodynamic instability, thromboembolic events, longer hospital stays, and increased health care costs. a variety of pharmacological and nonpharmacological strate...

Background Drug therapy to maintain sinus rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is limited by adverse effects and inadequate efficacy. There has been an increased interest in the use of class III drugs to treat AF, and several new agents have been developed, but there is little information available about mechanisms of class III drug action in AF. The present study was designed to co...

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is currently the most common arrhythmia in the world, which is an important contributor to cardiac morbidity and mortality, and classified to five types: first diagnosed AF, paroxysmal AF, persistent AF, long-standing persistent AF (LSP-AF), and permanent AF. LncRNAs, emerging as a novel therapeutic in cardiovascular medicine, attracted widespread attention, although an...

OBJECTIVE To examine the hypothesis that major extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins are expressed differently in the left atrial tissue of patients in sinus rhythm (SR), lone atrial fibrillation (AF), and AF with underlying mitral valve disease (MVD). DESIGN Case-control study. PATIENTS 118 patients with lone AF, MVD+AF, and SR. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Collagen I, collagen III, and fibronect...